Eloise Britton, left, and Daniel Dickinson and Nikolai Crawford, right, at play at Kidding Around Kindergarten at Willoughby. The child care centre plaaces high importance on the children's sun protection. Photo Credit: Fairfax Media/Getty Images
HealthSociety AustraliaTeaching the Importance of Sun Protection Has Paid Off
It has been proven that sun-safe practices taught in childhood lead to healthy lifelong behavior as the number of skin cancer cases is significantly lower among younger generations across Australia.
“It’s a really exciting thing to see the statistics coming in to show that all the hard work that schools, communities have been putting in, has actually paid off,” exclaims Cancer Council SA chief executive Kelly Rowlands.
The melanoma incidence rates dropped among people aged 39 and younger in Victoria, Queensland, and South Australia with 60% of the cases in the 40-74 age group. This reduction is due to the success of childhood sun protection programs in SunSmart Schools where a sun protection policy and practices are in place to reduce over-exposure to ultraviolet (UV). For decades, SunSmart Schools have brought awareness to children regarding the dangers of sun exposition since their young skin is considerably more sensitive to UV radiation. In South Australia alone, some 800 schools – covering 129,000 children – are signed up for Cancer Council’s SunSmart program. As sun exposition is cumulative, healthy habits are crucial to continuing to curb skin cancer among the population.
