News Releases
IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT HIGH SPF SUNSCREEN
Special Parents Magazine Report, Created With the American Academy of Dermatology, Presents Comprehensive Safety Guide From the Nation’s Leading Experts
NEW YORK – Many of us are simply too lax when it comes to sun safety.
For example: in a poll of more than 3,700 Parents readers, only 38 percent of those surveyed said that they put sunscreen on their children every day in the summer – and only 7 percent do so year-round, as experts recommend.
Created in partnership with the American Academy of Dermatology, the special Parents Magazine Report, “Get Serious About Sun Safety,” provides a comprehensive guide to sun safety including all the steps families can take now to save their children’s lives. It’s estimated that a child will get more than half of his lifetime sun exposure before age 18, says Parents. But sun smart protection throughout childhood can decrease his skin-cancer risk by 80 percent.
Wearing high SPF products have lulled some into a false sense of security, and in fact sunscreen is just one aspect of skin-cancer prevention. Equally essential: limiting time in the sun between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m., seeking shade, putting on a hat and wearing protective clothing.
“Wearing sunscreen doesn’t make it safe for you to stay out in the sun all day, just like wearing a seat belt doesn’t make it safe for you to drive 100 miles per hour,” says expert Andrea Cambio, M.D., a pediatric and adult dermatologist in New York City.
“Get Serious About Sun Safety” includes:
Eight Ways Doctors Protect Their Own Kids: Smart ways to stay safe, including:
• Fill a basket by your front door with sunglasses, hats and sunscreen
• Keep sunscreen in all your bags
• Put tubes of SPF 30 lip balm in the pockets of frequently worn coats, backpacks, and purses
• Explain to your kids that too much sun is bad for their skin (Page 122)
Lessons from the Land Down Under: With the highest skin-cancer rates in the world, Australians have made sun prevention a public-health priority. It’s too early to tell the full impact of this campaign, but the country’s skin-cancer rate has started to decline. A brief look at how the country has dealt with skin protection from programs in the schools to the launch of sun-protective clothing lines. (Page 130)
The Vitamin D Debate: There is one known health benefit of sunlight: It triggers the production of vitamin D. Parents magazine reports that some pediatricians are concerned that kids aren’t getting enough of this bone-building nutrient because there’s been a small increase in rickets in the U.S. Could sunscreen be to blame? (Page 130)
Plus:
• Everything you need to know to apply sunscreen properly so that you get the maximum protection
• The two most important things to look for on a label while shopping for sunscreen
• How to avoid a daily struggle over sunscreen application with your child
Editors from Parents are available to discuss these and other tips from the June 2006 issue.
Parents, America’s #1 family magazine, delivers information from the perspective of a trusted and sympathetic friend to more than 14 million readers.
CONTACT:
Susan Soriano
Susan.Soriano@meredith.com
212.499.1627