Tanning is ‘out’ according to the New Cancer Council’s National Sun Protection Survey 2010-2011. The survey shows that the trend of sporting a bronzed look amongst 12-17 year old young Australians has continued to drop steadily. According to the 2010-2011 survey the preference for a suntan dropped by 45% compared to a 60% decrease in 2003-2004 and 51% in 2006-2007.

Professor Ian Olver, Cancer Council Australia’s CEO said he is pleased with the results and added that the findings demonstrated that Australia’s public health campaigns were starting to benefit from real results, which in time will lead to fewer cases of skin cancer.

He commented:

“The sun protection message is starting to cut through, with teens more aware of the risks of tanning and sunburn. While these are encouraging results, we’ve still got a big job to convince the remaining 45% of teens to ditch the tan.”

Despite of the encouraging survey results, investigators found that one in five teens still got sun burnt on a typical summer weekend.

Professor Olver commented that a particular concern of the research was the discovery that 12 to 14 year-olds were being more prone to sunburn compared with those aged in the 15 to 17 age bracket, even though they were less likely to seek to tan. He said: “This indicates that 12-14 year-olds are doing outdoor activities, which are a good thing, but they are neglecting to cover up.”

Dr Phillip Artemi of the Australasian College of Dermatologists’ stated that skin damage is cumulative, as sun exposure in younger years contributes to the lifetime risk of skin cancer. He declared:

“The research shows attitudes are changing, which is great news. There are more than 10,300 cases of melanoma in Australia each year and it’s the most common cancer among people aged 15 to 44. We can expect this figure to drop over time as the trend for young people to avoid tanning continues to improve.”

Michael Clarke, Australian Cricket Test Captain who already had three skin cancers removed from his face wished he would have known more about the dangers when he was younger, saying: “If I knew then what I know now, I would have been much more sun smart.”

Written by Petra Rattue