Ethics Issue: Back in 1933 there was a cosmetic product that was in the market called Lash Lure. This product was a mascara product that many women were using on their eyelashes to make the look longer and bolder. Lash Lure had contained p-phenylenediamine, which was an untested chemical that proved to be harmful to the customers using it. The p-phenylenediamine caused horrible blisters, abscesses, and ulcers on the face, eyelids, and eyes of the consumers who used Lash Lure, and it led to blindness for some. In one instance, the ulcers were so severe that a woman developed a bacterial infection and died. This incident and others like it led the United States Congress to pass the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic (FD&C) Act of 1938. This law gave the FDA regulatory authority over cosmetic products, and companies began to test products and ingredients on animals in an effort to assure safety for consumers. The FDA “urges cosmetic manufacturers to conduct whatever tests are appropriate to establish that their cosmetics are safe”, but “does not specifically mandate animal testing for cosmetic safety.” The issue that is being raised is it ethical to harm an animal for the sake of marketing a new cosmetic product.
Facts:
Every year, an estimated 70 million animals are maimed or killed for cosmetic testing in the US alone, and nearly $12 billion taxpayer dollars are spent yearly on the practice. Labs that use mice, rats, birds, reptiles and amphibians are exempted from the minimal protections under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). The AWA authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to promulgate standards and other requirements governing the humane handling, housing, care, treatment, and transportation of certain animals by dealers, research facilities, exhibitors, carriers, and intermediate handlers. The AWA defines animal to mean “any live or dead dog, cat, monkey (nonhuman