Dress Up for Sun Protection/Creation of Public Awareness

Abstract

A clear or white skin was a sign of distinction for millennia. However, white people, during the last century, sought a tan, which was thought a sign of good health and upper social class. Sun-seekers are now better aware of the risks to their health of UV exposure, but their behaviour has not improved significantly at a global level. The only country deviating from this observation is Australia where aggressive prevention campaigns, such as the “Slip, Slop, Slap” and “Sun Smart” campaigns, have been conducted with success over more than 30 years. However, the financial cost of such campaigns is high, and may be considered too high in countries where skin cancers are fortunately less frequent and/or the culture of public health is unfortunately less developed. The global solar UV index (UVI) program is a response to the increasing skin cancer rate in all white populations. Lead by WHO, the UVI program aims to help people to evaluate the maximum intensity of UV radiation on a given day and at a given location. Since the beginning of the 1990s, UVI forecasts have increasingly been broadcast with weather bulletins. In the matter of protection of the skin, the entire scientific community has agreed that avoiding sun exposure during the 3 to 5 h around noon and to be fully clothed should be recommended. However, for a lot of people to protect the skin means only to apply sunscreen, and these individuals need convincing that it is preferable to use clothes. It may be necessary to involve public health actors in the increasing efforts to educate people and persuade them to adapt their protection strategy to their skin type, to the UV intensity and to their daily activities.