Baroness Wilcox
Main Page: Baroness Wilcox (Conservative - Life peer)
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Baroness Wilcox)
My Lords, I got carried away listening to the story. I congratulate the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor, on securing this debate, and I thank her especially for the interesting suggestions which she has made and upon which I will happily reflect. It is an important subject, which has attracted a great deal of media interest. I also thank at this stage my noble friend Lady Randerson, the noble Lord, Lord Collins of Highbury, and the noble Viscount, Lord Montgomery of Alamein, for his intervention and support in this debate.
My department is responsible for legislation to ensure the safety of cosmetics. The safety of cosmetics, especially hair dyes, is an area that is constantly monitored at EU level, where the safety requirements are nowadays harmonised. Our industry tells us that nearly 100 million dye units are used each year in the United Kingdom, by both men and women—however, I take the point made by the noble Lord, Lord Collins, that many of those men may not be taking advice, or may not be heeding or seeing the warnings that are so much more in evidence for women. Some of these dyes will contain substances that are regarded as potential extreme sensitizers. PPD, if we may call it that from now on, is one such substance and perhaps one of the most common substances used in permanent oxidative hair dyes, particularly those aimed, as we have heard, at the darker shades. PPD is used for the simple reason that it is extremely effective, and when used as directed it is considered safe for consumers.
The noble Baroness, Lady Taylor, referred to the percentage of allergic reactions. The evidence that we have is that the incidence of allergic reactions from hair colorants is 0.3 to 4.3 in every million products sold. However, because of the potential risks, any person who has become sensitive to the substance—for example, those who have had a previous allergic reaction to products containing PPD or to “black henna” semi-permanent tattoos—should not use these hair dyes. PPD is regulated by the European cosmetic products directive, which is implemented into UK law as the Cosmetic Products (Safety) Regulations 2008. This restricts the use of PPD for use only in hair dyes to certain limits and sets the conditions under which it can be used safely. It must not be used in any other cosmetic product. The maximum “on head” concentration limit—that is, when mixed with an oxidising agent—is 2 per cent. This is the level considered safe by the European legislator in 2010, when limits were reduced as a precautionary measure to address consumer risk and to the level that industry submitted safety files.
The noble Baroness will be pleased to know that PPD is one of the most researched of all hair dye substances. The European Scientific Committee on Consumer Safety and its predecessor bodies were asked to report on four submissions before 2006. The committee is currently looking at the fifth submission from the European cosmetics association, Cosmetics Europe, and was expected to report on this at its plenary meeting tomorrow. However, we understand that the scientific committee needs more time to reassess this substance and is likely to provide an opinion in June. Once printed, this information will be available to the general public on the Commission’s website. Since 2001, all hair dyes have been evaluated as part of the European Commission’s hair dyes strategy which is looking at, among other things, their carcinogenic potential.
We believe that it is vital to see and analyse the findings and conclusions of the SCCS before we consider what further research or whether further restrictions are needed on the use of PPD as an oxidative hair dye. That issue will be examined by the European Commission and member states once the SCCS has reported. As the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor, mentioned, cosmetics companies are also undertaking research into developing new technologies for permanent hair colouring, but these research efforts have not, thus far, produced products that could replace PPD.
In respect of further awareness, we believe that media reporting has generally been helpful in highlighting sensitivity to hair dyes. However, reports have not always been factually accurate, as is often the way. The UK industry’s trade association, the Cosmetic, Toiletry and Perfumery Association, produces very helpful fact sheets on PPD and other cosmetic issues on its website, www.thefactsabout.co.uk. This is aimed at consumers and explains the facts in a clear and concise way. The website gets more than 57,000 hits a year with the specific pages on hair colorant safety tips receiving more than 1,800 hits in the past year. The association is trying to make these issues clearer, but at the moment it is only for those who are searching online.
I have tried to answer some of the questions as I have gone along but I will speak now in response to the noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, who asked about awareness. We do not have information on the number of people who suffer adverse reactions. The Commission is initiating a collection of data on the serious undesirable facts, on which we will report back when it is done. As regards apprentices, the hairdressing industry is, as the noble Baroness, Lady Taylor, said, an unregulated industry. There are no requirements for qualifications before colouring hair. Hairdressers will of course follow the manufacturer’s instructions since this is often a requirement of their insurance. Often, that will involve the customer being advised to have a patch test using the dye product 48 hours prior to treatment. As we as a Government are so keen on apprenticeships—as I have to admit were the previous Government—and as this is one of the most popular apprenticeships for girls, in particular, I shall look into this further to ensure that the qualifications they are getting show them the importance of these tests as well.
The noble Baroness, Lady Randerson, and the noble Lord, Lord Collins, talked about unclear labelling. Legislation now covers requirements for clear warning labels on the packaging. The Government believe that clear labelling on packaging and clear instructions accompanying the product is critical for its safe use. It is important that all users, whether hairdressers or home users, follow the manufacturer’s instructions, especially when this requires a patch test before use of the product. This is because PPD is not the only known allergen in hair dyes and because it is not known to accumulate in the human body. Instead, the development of an allergic reaction stems from separate exposures to PPD. As a result, consumers could use the same product for many years and still develop an allergic reaction. We encourage the use of the patch test but will take away from this debate that maybe we are not looking at the issue hard enough at the moment.
Our view is that consumers should always have access to safety information. I declare my interest as chairman for seven years of the National Consumer Council—now Consumer Focus. We would argue that product-specific information is far more important than general messages about potential health hazards. Nevertheless, we are aware that the European Commission is exploring whether joint information campaigns with member states could add value for consumers—picking up the noble Lord’s point that somebody may be buying or using something in another member country of the European Union that may not have the sort of information that we do on our products. We will, of course, follow up on that. We will always participate, wherever possible, in any co-ordinated campaign that emerges to protect the British consumer.
Not many people spoke in the debate today, partially because the dates have changed three times. That made it very difficult for people to change around. However, several people, who could not be here today, spoke with great interest before the debate even happened. I thank the noble Baroness for putting this debate before us today and for the information that she has brought. We will take it away and see that it feeds into our future work.