Does Sunscreen Stop Skin Cancer? - The Dish | By Andrew Sullivan ...

by Zo? Pollock

There's inadequate evidence that's true, according to the National Cancer Institute, a branch of the NIH. Emily Elert explains the problem with sun protection today:

First of all, the way sunscreen?s effectiveness is measured?its SPF rating?basically only describes its ability to block UVB rays. That?s because UVB is the main cause of sunburn, and a sunscreen?s SPF stands for how long you can stay in the sun without getting a sunburn (a lotion that allows you to spend 40 minutes in the sun rather than the usual 20 before burning, for example, has an SPF of 2).

UVA rays can cause cancer but not sunburn, so they don?t factor into the SPF calculation. That means that if you slather on a high SPF sunscreen that only protects against UVB, you?d still absorb lots of UVA radiation, potentially increasing your long-term cancer risk.

The FDA recently decreed that sunscreens have a ?Broad Spectrum? label if they block wavelengths across the ultraviolet spectrum. Those regulations start in December.

(From the series "? la plage, ? la piscine" by Maison Gray, courtesy of the artist. Gray shoots out of a doorless helicopter to capture beaches and pools around the world, via Junkculture)

Source: http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/08/does-sunscreen-stop-skin-cancer.html

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