Sun lotion causes skin cancer - New evidence
- From: "Icarus" <icarus_uk@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 1 Jul 2007 11:40:52 +0100
I've been saying for years that sun lotion causes skin cancer.
Think about it - skin cancer rates have been going up for many decades,
coincidental with greater and greater use of sun lotions, of higher and
higher SPFs. No manufacturer claims that their sun lotion will protect you
from skin cancer, because there is no evidence that they do - they *will*
protect you from sunburn, but that is a different matter.
So, you have more and more people spending more and more time in the sun
because they *think* their umpteen-SPF sun lotion will protect them from
getting skin cancer, whereas in fact all it does is lull them into a false
sense of security - it encourages them to spend far more time in the sun
than they would otherwise, and thus put themselves at greater risk of
contracting skin cancer, not less.
Sun lotion defeats the body's natural tell-tale sign of over-exposure -
sunburn - and the body's natural defence mechanism - a tan. If you never use
sun lotion, you will quickly learn to spend sensible amounts of time in
strong sunshine and to seek shade when you know, from experience, that you
are at risk of over-doing it. You will build up your body's natural sun
defence - a good tan - which you wear all the time, and don't have to
remember to slap on from a bottle every time you go outdoors. With a deeper
tan, built up gradually through spring and summer as the sun gets higher in
the sky, you will be more protected from its harmful radiation.
Don't believe that hysteria that "tanned skin is damaged skin" - it's not,
it's naturally protected skin, the result of your body's normal sun defence
system which has worked well for millions of years. Sun lotion may have its
place in some situations, but it is no substitute for sensible
self-preservation, and in general it should be avoided.
Now there is new evidence to support this point of view - New Scientist has
the following article:
=========
SUMMER is here, at least for those of us on the top of half the world. It's
time to dump the coats, bare the shoulders and bring on the barbecues, time
for days at the beach, outdoor sports and fun in the sun. And thanks to the
miracle of modern chemistry known as sunscreen, we can spend hours under the
sun without worrying about the consequences.
Or can we? The incidence of the most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma,
is increasing faster than that of any other cancer, doubling every one or
two decades in countries such as the US, UK and Australia. There's no doubt
that more people exposing more skin to the sun more often is the underlying
reason behind the huge rise since the 1950s. Yet when epidemiologists began
to look at the effects of sunscreens in the 1990s, they found no evidence
that these creams and lotions were reducing the impact of our love of
sunshine by protecting us from melanoma.
How is this possible? While sunburn is mostly caused by the part of the
ultraviolet spectrum known as UVB, there's growing evidence linking
melanomas to UVA. Older sunscreens allowed people to stay out in the sun
longer without burning but provided little protection against UVA, so they
increased people's exposure to these wavelengths.
If UVA really is responsible for melanoma, a whole generation may have been
misled into thinking sunscreens allowed them to soak up the rays with
impunity. Lawyers in the US have filed a class action lawsuit against a
number of sunscreen makers alleging that labels such as "sunblock" are
misleading, because the products do not "block" the whole UV spectrum and
often imply equal UVA and UVB protection.
Most newer sunscreens do now provide some protection against UVA, but there
is no uniform standard for measuring this protection, so it's hard to know
what you are buying. What's more, even the best modern sunscreens don't seem
to provide enough protection against the harmful effects of UVA. Are we all
better off putting on a hat and shirt ...
[it ends here because I'm not a subscriber]
==========================
Pretty much supports what I've been saying all along.
.
- Follow-Ups:
- Sun lotion causes skin cancer - New evidence
- From: paar
- Sun lotion causes skin cancer - New evidence
- Prev by Date: Re: Second (Naturist) Life
- Next by Date: Re: Second (Naturist) Life
- Previous by thread: BN Web Updates (NitN)
- Next by thread: Sun lotion causes skin cancer - New evidence
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
