Sun Safety Alert

Sports and outdoor activities are an important part of a healthy lifestyle. Unprotected exposure to the sun is not.

Head protection is de rigeur in sports like cycling. A safe cyclist rides defensively to prevent a crash from ever happening but also wears a helmet for head protection in case of a crash. Use the same principle for sun safety. The key is to prevent harmful exposure from ever happening, so your first priority should be to stay out of the sun. If you must be outside, take measures to protect yourself from the sun's rays.

Skin injured by the sun may be easier to ignore than a broken arm or a concussion. Nonetheless, the long-term effects, especially on young people (who are the most likely to seek a tan), can be very serious.

Skin Cancer on the Rise

Sunburn, skin cancer, skin aging and cataracts are all blamed on over-exposure to UV radiation. Avoiding skin damage from UV rays could prevent 60 to 70% of skin cancer cases.

Melanoma is the least common but most serious form of skin cancer. The Canadian Cancer Society estimates that 4,400 new cases were reported in 2005, up over 12 percent from 2002 - and over 80 percent higher than in 1989. Between the ages of 15 and 34, melanoma is the fourth most common cancer. If found at an early stage, it is curable; but if detected late, it can kill. There is no effective chemotherapy at present. The incidence of non-melanoma skin cancer almost doubled from 1989 to 2005, from 40,000 to 78,000.

Generally skin cancer appears 10 to 25 years after initial sun exposure. The more time young people spend unprotected in the sun, the higher their risk for developing skin cancer later in life.

How Sun Smart Are We - Really?

Three Environment Canada scientists invented the solar UV Index in 1992 in the midst of concerns about ozone levels after the eruption of Mount Pinitubo in the Philippines. It is now an international standard, used in weather forecasts around the world to warn people about the strength of the sun's UV rays.

There is evidence that Canadians are not as careful about sun safety as they should be.

A study of parents and children on beaches in British Columbia, published in 2002, revealed a reliance on sunscreen to protect against sunburn. Half of the parents interviewed were wearing sunscreen, while 65 percent said their children were wearing sunscreen. Over 80 percent of parents had not re-applied their own or their children's sunscreen. Fewer than one in 10 of the children observed wore a shirt or a hat of any kind — fewer still, a proper wide-brimmed hat. Moreover, despite the high UV-exposure setting, very few parents or children took advantage of shade under nearby trees or umbrellas.

Sun Safety Basics

Pay attention to the UV Index and minimize exposure to the damaging rays of the sun. UV rays usually reach their peak around noon, so keep out of the sun in the middle of the day. When you are outside, stay in the shade, and make it a habit to wear a wide-brimmed hat, long sleeves and protective sunglasses.

Apply plenty of sunscreen before going outside, whether it's sunny or cloudy, hot or cool. Make sure it has an SPF of at least 15 against both UVA and UVB rays, use it generously and re-apply it after swimming or exercise.

To be sun smart, combine all four Canada Sun Guide basics -and enjoy your outdoor activities!

References:

1. The Canada Safety Council developed the Canada Sun Guide in partnership with Active Living-Go for Green! and other partners. It was published in 1996 to help Canadians combine sun safety with outdoor activities.

2. Sun Protection Among Parents and Children at Freshwater Beaches, Jean A. Shoveller et al., Canadian Journal of Public Health, March-April 2002

3. 1996 National Survey on Sun Exposure & Protective Behaviours, Institute of Health Promotion Research, University of British Columbia, 1998.

4. Canadian Cancer Statistics 2005.

Updated May 2006.

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