Britain is still a nation of sun worshippers
One in seven people in Britain
want a suntan despite the risks
of developing skin cancer.
The finding comes from an
Imperial Cancer Research Fund
(IRCF) investigation into public
attitudes towards sunbathing.
Three quarters of people want a
tan at some time during the
year, while a quarter like to be
sun bronzed all year round.
Some people actually said that
they needed a suntan and even
the threat of skin cancer would
not put them off.
(AP PHOTO/DOUGLGAS ENGLE)
A telephone poll of 1000
people aged 15 years and over,
commissioned by the National
Opinion Poll, marks the start of
the ICRF's new summer campaign
"Sun Sense or Sun Abuse?"
Campaigners claim that thousands
of people develop skin cancer
each year because of the
public's enduring love affair with
the sun.
One in five people said that
they would "binge sunbathe"
over a weekend, with this figure
rising to one in four among 15
to 24 year olds. One in seven
would sunbathe without any
sunscreen, the report said.
Charlotte Proby, consultant
dermatologist for the charity,
said: "I'm concerned at how desperate
some people are for a tan.
Sun seeking behaviour and inadequate
sun protection increases
the risk of being sunburned and
this damage will increase the risk
of developing skin cancer."
The incidence of skin cancer
- the most common cancer in
Britain - is increasing, according
to the ICRF. There are 40 000
cases and 2000 deaths in the
United Kingdom each year.
Ninety per cent of all new cases
are non-melanomas, which are
usually treatable but claimed 467
lives in 1998. The more serious
melanoma form of skin cancer
killed 1640 in the same year.
The charity's campaign highlights
the risks by calling on the
beauty industry to help people
decide that "pale is beautiful"
and enlists the support of a holiday
company, JMC, to spread its
"sun sense message." They want
a suntan to become as socially
undesirable as smoking.
Some health awareness messages
are getting through. The
survey shows high awareness of
the dangers of sunbathing. Seven
in 10 people believe that people
with a tan are taking risks with
their health and think that tanned
people have damaged their skin
and will age faster as a result.
The survey concludes that
the only way that Britain's sun
worshippers will be discouraged
is the prospect of developing an
illness or directly experiencing
the negative effects of the sun.
Kay Brennan, Leeds
studentBMJ 2001;09:171-216 June ISSN 0966-6494
