Sun Factor Warning For Holiday Britons
Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 8:11 am
Sun Factor Warning For Holiday Britons
Brits heading to sunnier climes this summer should wear more protective sun cream than the factor 15 previously recommended, experts have warned.
At the start of this year the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) suggested that sun protection factor (SPF) 15 UVA and UVB sunscreens would be sufficient.
But an editorial in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) promotes an "urgent" re-think and believes those recommendations are "not in the interests of public health".
According to experts factor 15 offers all-day protection but only if it is applied at a thickness of 2mg/cm2 - the standard for SPF used by manufacturers.
The editorial said: "In reality, people using sunscreens typically apply much less than this and get no more than half, at best, of the protection indicated by the labelled SPF."
In addition there are other complications, including the fact that sunscreen easily runs off the skin - and also people might be tempted to use it sparingly as cream is so expensive.
The article continued: "Using it 'adequately' is also costly, since whole-body coverage for a single application for an adult at 2mg/cm2 requires around 35ml of sunscreen.
"Applying this much at least every two hours, as Nice also recommends, would require a standard 200ml bottle of sunscreen every two to three days.
"In our view, the Nice advice on sunscreen use is not in the interests of public health.
"Products labelled with an SPF of 30 (together with a four or five-star rating to indicate broad-spectrum ultraviolet screening effect) will more reliably deliver adequate sun protection to most people who use sunscreens and would be sufficient to prevent sunburn under most circumstances.
"We believe that this is what Nice should have recommended."
The experts argue that a "more logical solution" would be for manufacturers to change how they test sunscreens "so that it accurately reflect(s) the way people actually use sunscreens in real life.
"Then the SPF would really tell people what sun protection to expect."
Dr Ike Iheanacho, editor of the publication, said: "In DTB's view, Nice's recommendation to use sunscreens with an SPF as low as 15 is a blunder that overlooks the key evidence and is not in the best interests of public health.
"This advice needs urgent review and correction."
Source: Sky News
Brits heading to sunnier climes this summer should wear more protective sun cream than the factor 15 previously recommended, experts have warned.
At the start of this year the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (Nice) suggested that sun protection factor (SPF) 15 UVA and UVB sunscreens would be sufficient.
But an editorial in the Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin (DTB) promotes an "urgent" re-think and believes those recommendations are "not in the interests of public health".
According to experts factor 15 offers all-day protection but only if it is applied at a thickness of 2mg/cm2 - the standard for SPF used by manufacturers.
The editorial said: "In reality, people using sunscreens typically apply much less than this and get no more than half, at best, of the protection indicated by the labelled SPF."
In addition there are other complications, including the fact that sunscreen easily runs off the skin - and also people might be tempted to use it sparingly as cream is so expensive.
The article continued: "Using it 'adequately' is also costly, since whole-body coverage for a single application for an adult at 2mg/cm2 requires around 35ml of sunscreen.
"Applying this much at least every two hours, as Nice also recommends, would require a standard 200ml bottle of sunscreen every two to three days.
"In our view, the Nice advice on sunscreen use is not in the interests of public health.
"Products labelled with an SPF of 30 (together with a four or five-star rating to indicate broad-spectrum ultraviolet screening effect) will more reliably deliver adequate sun protection to most people who use sunscreens and would be sufficient to prevent sunburn under most circumstances.
"We believe that this is what Nice should have recommended."
The experts argue that a "more logical solution" would be for manufacturers to change how they test sunscreens "so that it accurately reflect(s) the way people actually use sunscreens in real life.
"Then the SPF would really tell people what sun protection to expect."
Dr Ike Iheanacho, editor of the publication, said: "In DTB's view, Nice's recommendation to use sunscreens with an SPF as low as 15 is a blunder that overlooks the key evidence and is not in the best interests of public health.
"This advice needs urgent review and correction."
Source: Sky News