There's no such thing as a 'safe' suntan, researchers warn

[C1ay]

There may be no such thing as a 'safe' tan based on ultraviolet (UV) radiation, according to a series of papers published in the October issue of Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research, the official journal of The International Federation of Pigment Cell Societies (IFPCS) and the Society for Melanoma Research.

 

The authors of the three review papers – leading researchers in the fields of cell biology, dermatology and epidemiology – have examined the effects on skin of UV radiation, including that from indoor tanning beds. As well as highlighting the need for greater research into this area, they have called for the use of such beds by under-18s to be banned, along with any publicity that claims that tanning beds are safe.

 

Exposure to UV radiation, for example, from sunbathing or using an indoor tanning bed, affects the skin in a number of ways, including causing DNA damage, photoaging (damage to the skin from chronic exposure to sunlight) and skin cancer. UV radiation is the most ubiquitous carcinogen (cancer-causing agent) for humans, in whom skin is the organ most commonly affected by cancer.

 

Although more research is required, published data suggest that indoor tanning beds, which are used most by young women, are linked to an increased risk of melanoma (the most dangerous form of skin cancer), and do not support the idea that tanning beds are safe.

 

In one of three papers in the series published today, Dr David E Fisher, dermatologist and president of the Society of Melanoma Research, and colleagues from the Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston have explored the social issues and molecular mechanisms related to tanning caused by UV exposure. Reviewing published data in the field, the authors report that both tanning and skin cancer seem to begin with the same event – DNA damage caused by UV exposure. This leads them to suggest that a 'safe' tan with UV may be a physical impossibility.

 

The authors conclude: "UVR [ultraviolet radiation] exposure represents one of the most avoidable causes of cancer risk and mortality in man. Whereas genetic and other factors undoubtedly contribute importantly to skin cancer risk, the role of UV is incontrovertible, and efforts to confuse the public, particularly for purposes of economic gain by the indoor tanning industry, should be vigorously combated for the public health."

 

The other two papers in the series have been written by Dr Marianne Berwick, an epidemiologist at the University of New Mexico Cancer Research and Treatment Centre, and Dr Dorothy C Bennett, a dermatologist at the Division of Basic Medical Sciences, St George's, University of London, London, UK. The three papers and a related podcast with Dr Fisher can be accessed for free online at www.pigment.org.

 

Skin cancer is the most common malignancy in the US; the American Academy of Dermatology reports than one American dies every 62 minutes from melanoma. The WHO estimated that, in the year 2000, up to 71 000 deaths worldwide were attributed to excessive UV exposure.

 

Source: EurekAlert

[Michaelangelica]

Australian Health authorities and doctors have been warning people about this for years.

Still you find people cooking themselves on beaches or even in solariums Recently a 22 year old girl lost her life from skin cancer due to over-use of solariums.

 

Someone needs to tell us how much sun is safe or needed for necessary vitamin D production

and/ or mushrooms need to be sun-treated to up the Vitamin D level

[Moontanman]

Is there any difference between light complected people and dark complected people? I tan easily, to a very dark brown but I have blue eyes and without the sun moderately light skin. I have been almost naked much of the summer and have a dark tan all over. Does this put me at risk? I don't lay in the sun but things like yard work, fishing, and other out door pursuits allow me to get a reasonable amount of sun. At the very least I have read where people need some sun to get vitamin "D"

[Michaelangelica]

between light complected people and dark complected people?

The young girl/woman who died had an Asian (light brown complexion).

 

 

I thought there might be a FAQ at these sites but couldn't find anything

The Cancer Council New South Wales :: Skin cancer detection, diagnosis and treatment

 

Vitamin D and 'Slip, Slop, Slap' [ 100% ]

 

7 August 2002

Home / Media / Media releases / Archived media releases / 2002 media releases / August 2002

In fair skinned people, exposure of the face, hands and arms to direct sunlight for 15 minutes 3 times a week allows sufficient Vitamin D to be synthesised in the body

.

http://www.cancervic.org.au/search.asp?keywords=Light+skin+dark+skin&SearchType=And&ContentType=media_release&CurrentPage=1

 

 

Skin cancer facts and figures

 

 

Information sheets

 

The information sheets below have been developed by The Cancer Council NSW and cover a range of skin cancer topics. For more in depth information on any of these topics please call the Cancer Helpline on 13 11 20.

 

[ Following information sheets are saved as Adobe PDFs. Click to download. If you don't have Adobe Acrobat Reader visit Adobe website to download the latest version for free of charge.]

 

 

 

Solariums: the facts [57 KB]

 

Sunscreen [70 KB]

 

Sunsmart Eyes [56 KB]

 

Vitamin D and sun exposure [61 KB]

 

Vitamin D, sun and UV index [199 KB]

 

Being SunSmart in the snow [64 KB]

 

Fake tanning [55 KB]

 

Teen Tanning - It's Time the Glow Faded from Tanning [155 KB]

 

Sun safety for sport and recreation [80 KB]

 

Sport and recreation SunSmart policy guide [ 102 KB]

 

 

 

 

Skin cancer statistics

This summer your days in the sun are numbered - early skin cancer prevention advertising posterAustralia has the highest rate of skin cancer in the world. Almost 1 in 2 people who live here their whole lives here will develop some form of skin cancer. There are more than 1600 deaths from skin cancer in Australia every year.

 

In NSW incidence and mortality rates for skin cancer are also high. Over 3500 new cases of melanoma are diagnosed every year and more than 460 people die. There are also some 147,653 new cases of non-melanoma skin cancers (squamous cell and basal cell carcinoma).

 

Incidence and mortality are highest in people aged over 50 years. However melanoma also occurs in younger people. In 2005 in NSW, melanoma was the most common cancer in males aged 25-54 and in females aged 15-29. It was the second most common cancer in women 30-54 years of age.

For more cancer statistics, click here

 

Found it

Cancer Myths and facts

The Cancer Council New South Wales :: Cancer Myths and Facts

"My naturally dark (or olive) skin protects me from cancer."

 

Though naturally dark people have a lower risk of skin cancer than fair-skinned people, this does not make them immune. Dark-skinned people can get skin cancer, although their skin cancers may develop in unusual places, for example black people may develop melanomas under their fingernails or on the soles of their feet.

[freeztar]

My fiancee is telling me that it is mandatory to wear sunscreen in Oz. Is that true?

[Moontanman]

My fiancee is telling me that it is mandatory to wear sunscreen in Oz. Is that true?

 

Only if you are on or within 30 meters of the yellow brick road!

 

"We're off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz!":phones:

[Michaelangelica]

My fiancee is telling me that it is mandatory to wear sunscreen in Oz. Is that true?

Yes absolutely. Remember Oz is not like USA it has a socialist government

This new law was recently passed after some tragic deaths of young people from skin cancer; and a huge campaign by the National Cancer Council (We have the highest death rate of skin cancer in the world).

Police are likely to stop you in the street to check that you have sunscreen on (A hat is mandatory -only in Summer- too).

It is always a good idea to carry some sunscreen with you so that if you are questioned you can show this to the police. This usually gets you off.

This is of course, unless you are swimming at a beach -then the police (& beach inspectors) check with a small machine -like a breathalyser- and/or sniffer dogs)

A typical Ozzie on the way to the beach in summer, putting on the popular "Zinc Cream" sunscreen. It is one of the better sunscreens and now comes in many colours other than white

However some rampaging, violent, racial majorities now use it as a sort of war paint or gang identification. (For more info Google "Cronulla Beach race riots" 2007?)

 

Many popular tourist beaches these days have a guy selling "spray on" sunscreen fairly inexpensively. ( a bit like a spray painter -sorry i can't find a picture of this)

 

Don't be fooled by the casual attire of beach inspectors. they have ultimate power

This mug shot of a US tourist (identity obscured by hood) shows how naive they can be. Did they really think the police would miss this obvious sunburn? Dumb Yanks.

A propaganda poster showing a mother doing the right thing and applying sunscreen

Typical warning sign on most beaches. yanks often claim they don't understand or read Austrian but this will not wash with the police.

 

Punishment can be severe and can result in detention in the new Christmas Island Detention Centre. (Don't be conned by its attractive name it is a hell-hole). There is no US embassy on Christmas Island I think that is the reason they send Yanks there. The socialists are always jealous of true democracies.

Christmas island is full of flesh eating crabs. Escape is impossible

[freeztar]

:shrug:

[Michaelangelica]

:)

I can see you are NOT taking this seriously enough

We have places for people like you

(They usually serve beer and peanuts)

[freeztar]

I can see you are NOT taking this seriously enough

We have places for people like you

(They usually serve beer and peanuts)

 

Sounds like my kind of place! :hyper:

(As long as it's in the shade ;))

[Michaelangelica]

Vitamin helps prevent skin cancer

Thursday, 20 November 2008

Clinical Oncolgoical Society of Australia

 

Nicotinamide (VitB3), a vitamin found in common foods like meats, nuts, grains and cereals, may provide the next advance in skin cancer prevention, according to new research from the University of Sydney.

 

Presenting the results of a trial to the Clinical Oncological Society of Australia's 2008 Annual Scientific Meeting, Associate Professor Diona Damian said tests had shown the vitamin prevented damage from ultraviolet (UV) radiation by protecting the immune system.

 

"UV radiation in sunlight suppresses the skin's immune system and makes it more susceptible to skin cancer," Professor Damian said. "Our research found that nicotinamide can prevent the immunosuppressive effects of UV by energising cells so they maintain their immunity."

 

Professor Damian said the tests on volunteers using nicotinamide both as a lotion and in tablet form offered equally strong protection, against both UVB and UVA.

Vitamin helps prevent skin cancer (ScienceAlert)

[Michaelangelica]

No such thing as a safe sunscreen?

Home

Do nanoparticles in sunscreens and cosmetics penetrate the skin?

Do nanoparticles in sunscreens and cosmetics penetrate the skin? | nano.foe.org.au

 

"There are sunscreens out there being sold right now that contain nano ingredients that could be causing quite serious toxicity problems," Georgia Miller, from Friends of the Earth (FOTE), said.

 

Associate Professor Tom Faunce, from the Australian National University (ANU), says concerns centre on nanotechnology's unknowns.

 

"The big issue is to what extent do they [nano particles] get inside the cells through the dead skin on the outer surface of the body?" he said.

 

"To what extent do they accumulate? To what extent do they actually cause long-term injury?

 

"We really don't have this information."

 

Many sunscreens contain titanium dioxide and zinc oxide - effective reflectors of the sun's rays - but they leave an inconvenient thick, sticky, white layer on the skin.

 

Making these ingredients nano-sized - the particles used in sunscreen are about 200 times smaller than human blood cells -mean they rub on clear.

 

"A nanometre is a billionth of a metre," Dr Faunce said.

 

"We're talking about particles that are about 40 nanometres - very small, but they actually have a larger surface area at that size.

 

"So they still have the capacity - in fact an enhanced capacity in some cases - to reflect ultraviolet rays."

 

This all might sound attractive, but according to Dr Faunce there are concerns about what happens if these nano particles were to enter the body.

 

Unable to convince the Government to remove the products from shelves, FOTE is taking on manufacturers and alerting consumers of what they say are the potential dangers of particular sunscreens.

Nano-tech sunscreen presents potential health risk - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

 

Brief background information on nanoparticles in sunscreens | nano.foe.org.au

 

 

Early studies on the safety of zinc oxide nanoparticles used in sunscreens are reassuring, say scientists.

 

But the studies still can't tell us the actual risk of using products containing these tiny particles.

 

Two of the first Australian studies on the safety of zinc oxide nanoparticles will be presented later this month at the International Conference on Nanoscience and Nanotechnology in Melbourne.

 

One study looked at what happens when sunscreen containing these nanoparticles is applied to human skin.

 

"You put these materials on your skin and they disappear," says researcher Professor Brian Gulson from Macquarie University's Graduate School of the Environment in Sydney.

 

"Surely they must go somewhere. Are they being absorbed through the skin?"

Tests on sunscreen nanoparticles 'reassuring' (ABC News in Science)

[Michaelangelica]

One in three kids still pro-tanning

Thursday, 05 February 2009

University of Otago

Building a positive attitude towards Sun protection could be the key to reducing children's skin cancer risk.

 

 

Educating school children about the health risks of excessive and harmful Sun exposure is not enough in itself to ensure Sun-smart behaviour - pro-tanning attitudes need to be tackled too, according to latest University of Otago research.

 

The study, involving nearly 500 New Zealand primary and intermediate school children, found that older children knew more about the risks, but their attitudes and behaviour in the Sun were much less protective than those of their younger, less-knowledgeable peers.

 

The findings are published in the Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health.

 

Paper co-author Dr Caradee Wright says that it was only when children held positive attitudes about Sun protective behaviour that knowing about excess Sun exposure risk was significantly associated with being Sun-smart.

 

"Our findings indicate that attitudes should be specifically targeted when designing Sun protection and skin cancer prevention programmes aimed at influencing the Sun-related behaviours of children."

One in three kids still pro-tanning(ScienceAlert)

[AngelaG]

Hi I've read some interesting research from M.D. Anderson in Houston linking some melanoma to hypothyroidism. I was diagnosed with a melanoma in October of 2001 and found out I had hypothyroidism in February 2002. I wonder if the hypothyroidism causes melanin to build up in the body in some way? I know hypothyroidism can slow down apoptosis of cells. Staying out of the sun since then has caused vitamin D deficiency in me so I now take supplements.

[arkain101]

Interesting stuff,

 

Last summer I spent every waking hour in the sun, very often with no shirt on, doing concrete placing and finishing.(labouring work)

 

I turned brown, and at the beginning of the year I was white. I am white now, since winter. However, I took precautions to ease myself into it, so I never did burn. I waited untill I had sufficient tan before exposing myself for a long time.

 

wondering..