Chapter 7 - Cosmeceutical (Antiaging) Products: Advertising Rules and Claims Substantiation

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The term “cosmeceutical” has been widely used by the cosmetic industry to refer to cosmetics that also possess drug-like effects. Antiaging products are among the fastest growing segment of the skin-care market; many of them are claimed as “cosmeceuticals,” able to deliver rejuvenation benefits far beyond skin moisturization or merely covering up wrinkles. A significant amount of media coverage has been devoted to the topic of antiaging in recent years. Antiaging medicine practitioners claim that human life expectancy could be dramatically increased through certain chemical and/or lifestyle interventions including caloric restriction, genetic manipulation, antioxidants, hormone treatments, stem cell replacement therapies, and so on. New “cosmeceutical” products allegedly incorporating the benefit of such advanced medical interventions arrive at the storefront at an increasingly alarming rate. A market trend report published in 2005 stated that sales of “cosmeceuticals” in the United States would reach $12.4 billion in 2004 and continue to grow to over $16 billion by 2010. It is estimated that an average American encounters at least 1,500 advertising messages daily; many of them contain age-reversing, appearance-rejuvenating claims. In the United States, there are several regulatory mechanisms of advertising, labeling, and classification of consumer cosmetic products, including the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTC Act) enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), voluntary industry framework, private judicial actions targeting false and misleading advertising, and state laws. This chapter presents a brief overview of US and global cosmetic regulations. In the US, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) can only take postmarket enforcement actions on cosmetic products; premarket approval requirements are applied only for color additives in cosmetic products. The FDA's Voluntary Cosmetic Registration Program (VCRP) is not a requirement, safety-testing requirements are not mandatory, and good manufacturing practices (GMP) are encouraged.