8 April 2026
Cancer societies across Europe are calling on the European Parliament to uphold strong safeguards against cancer-causing substances in cosmetics, ahead of key votes in two subcommittees on 15 April.
As parts of efforts to simplify EU legislation, the European Commission has proposed changes to the EU Cosmetics Regulation in its “Chemicals Omnibus”. However, these changes would significantly weaken existing protections against chemicals that cause cancer under the regulation, which governs their use in a wide range of everyday personal care products like soap, make-up and toothpaste.
In a letter addressed to members of the European Parliament’s Committee on the Environment, Climate and Food Safety and the Committee on the Internal Market and Consumer Protection, the Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL) urges MEPs to protect citizens from avoidable exposure to carcinogenic substances.
“Efforts to reduce people’s exposure to cancer-causing chemicals should be scaled up, not scaled back. With nearly one in two cancer cases preventable, weakening existing protections would be a step in the wrong direction. We call on Members of the European Parliament to defend strong, evidence-based measures to protect public health through the EU Cosmetics Regulation,” says Dr Wolfgang Fecke, Executive Director at the Association of European Cancer Leagues (ECL).
