Don’t go out in sun for over 10 minutes warn health chiefs

SUNSEEKERS are today warned there is no such thing as a healthy tan – and the fair-skinned should spend no more than ten minutes in strong sunlight.

New guidance urges adults and children to slap on up to eight teaspoons of suncream during the summer or when holidaying in hot climates.

The advice has been drawn up amid soaring rates of skin cancer blamed on a lack of awareness and the boom in package holidays.

There are now just over 13,500 cases of malignant melanoma – the deadliest form of skin cancer – in the UK a year and the incidence is rising faster than any other cancer.

NICE has issued its warning as thousands of Britons are booking holidays for the coming spring and summer.

But it will be regarded by some as yet further ‘nanny state’ intrusion.

Only last month the Chief Medical Officer Dame Sally Davies issued new guidance stressing there was no safe level of drinking.

NICE’s advice is also confusing, in that it also urges people, especially underfives, pregnant women and office workers, to ensure they get more vitamin D, which comes from sunlight, to prevent rickets and osteoporosis.

The watchdog tells patients and doctors to try and ‘strike a balance’.

In a stark warning, however, it states there is ‘no safe or healthy way to get a tan from sunlight’.

This is because a tan is not a form of protection but a sign the skin has already been damaged.

The watchdog also urges Britons to apply suncream liberally and frequently – ensuring it is factor 15 or above.

Using half of the necessary amount of lotion means it may provide only a third of the protection.

Professor Eugene Healy, consultant dermatologist at the University of Southampton, who helped draw up NICE’s guidelines, said: ‘ Dermatologists have said for many years that there is no such thing as a healthy tan.

‘We would agree because in order for the skin to tan up it has to undergo a certain amount of damage. The body is reacting to the damage and trying to prevent it happening again.

‘We tend not to say to anyone to go out for long periods of time. People should not be outside long enough to cause them to ever burn. If you are a typical red-haired or fair-skinned [person], we’d probably say only ten minutes, maybe 15, in bright summer sunshine.’

Malignant melanoma now causes 2,150 deaths a year. There are unusually high rates among the under55s and that age group accounts for a third of all cases.

Experts say many of the cancers happen because the public are unaware of the harm of UV rays.

NICE states that even in Britain, the public should take particular care between 11am and 3pm, from March to October.

They should apply six to eight teaspoons of lotion at least 30 minutes before going outside in strong sunlight. This is equivalent to 35 millilitres and adults should measure it out, if unsure.

They should then reapply it every few hours or immediately after swimming or sweating.

Professor Gillian Leng, Deputy Chief Executive at NICE said: ‘We need to better identify groups at risk of over or under exposure to sunlight and give them better understanding of why they may need to modify their behaviour and how.’

NICE has been criticised in the past issuing overly-zealous and patronising public health guidance.

Recent guidelines include telling adults to have two TV-free days off a week and not to share a bottle of wine in evenings.

But Sarah Williams, of Cancer Research UK, said: ‘These guidelines help people understand the risks and benefits of being out in strong sun.

‘While we all need some sun for vitamin D, it’s important not to overdo it as the sun’s UV rays also increase skin cancer risk.’