Issue Report on Animal Testing

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Biology Issue Report Subject: Are the results of animal testing in the cosmetics industry relevant and applicable to humans? The testing of cosmetics on animals has been banned in the EU since 2009; however other countries around the world (such as the USA) still use animals in these tests. In an attempt to predict safety and effectiveness of cosmetics and toiletries, regulators in countries like America require companies to prove that their products are safe and harmless towards human beings. The cosmetics companies are required to conduct these experiments - they do not simply test on animals because they want to. Many thousands of animals (such as rabbits, mice, rats and guinea pigs) are used every year in the tests, but how reliable and applicable are the results to humans? The problem The ‘Draize Eye Irritancy Test’ is just one example of the many experiments animals are used for in countries outside of the EU. The test is often associated with rabbits; however dogs and non-human primates can also be used for this procedure. John H. Draize developed the test in 1944, in order to evaluate the irritation caused by a number of chemicals that are used in the cosmetics industry. In the test, the substance that the scientist is trying to evaluate is placed into one eye, whilst the other eye acts as a control. The test involves the rabbits being restrained in order to prevent them from reacting as they naturally would to the irritation. Their eyes are assessed after one hour, and then at 24-hour intervals for up to 14-21 days. The level of irritation to the eyes is recorded numerically by observation of the three major tissues of the eye - the cornea, conjunctiva, and iris. (1) Animal tests for chemicals used in the cosmetics industry (such as the Draize test) are recognised as showing poor quality results that do not relate to human beings. It is

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