Final answer:
The FDA regulates cosmetic products mainly by checking labeling and safety, not by premarket approval as they do with drugs. They focus less on use frequency, contact duration, and immune system effects, but require a warning notice if products are not safety tested.
Step-by-step explanation:
FDA Regulation of Cosmetics vs. Medicine
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has varying degrees of authority over different products, with a focus on ensuring safety and efficacy. For cosmetic products, the FDA's jurisdiction primarily revolves around labeling and safety as opposed to premarket approval, which is the case for drugs. However, cosmetic firms are legally required to ensure their products are safe for consumers and properly labeled. If a cosmetic product has not been safety tested, it must display a warning notice. Unlike the stringent regulations for medicines, which can require years of testing before approval, cosmetics do not have the same level of scrutiny.
Regarding the options given, the FDA is less concerned about how long cosmetic products make contact with the skin, the frequency of product use, and specific effects on different immune systems unless there is a safety issue that arises. The FDA does not have the legal authority to require companies to share information about their products unless there is a specific reason to believe a product is unsafe.
It's important to note that while the FDA has reviewed and recommended restrictions on several hundred ingredients used in cosmetics, there is no systemic method for reviewing these chemicals, nor a standardized definition of safety. This means that the cosmetics industry largely relies on its own research and the influence of experts in cosmetic ingredient reviews for safety monitoring.