Americans visiting beaches in France, Spain or Italy often do something that’s illegal back home: They purchase and use European sunscreens for better protection against sunburn and skin cancer. Many dermatologists argue that American sunscreens are far behind the scientific frontier, and they worry that the Food and Drug Administration’s decadeslong delay in approving new sunscreens for purchase in the U.S. is contributing to rising rates of skin cancer.
The FDA is probably correct, but it’s frustrating that options that do work are not available in the U.S. even though they are available in Europe. Ambroxol is an excellent decongestant available nearly everywhere in the world as a generic. It has been in wide use since 1979 and is regarded as both safe and effective. But it’s not available in the U.S. because getting through the FDA process is too costly. In 2013, then-FDA Commissioner Margaret A.