HSE expert speaks out against online sunscreen misinformation

A HSE expert has spoken out against claims from online influencers that not only is sunscreen not needed, its chemicals could be dangerous.

According to Professor Anne Marie Tobin, the HSE’s national clinical lead for dermatology, there’s no truth to the claims, and no science to back them up.

“The idea that the sun doesn’t cause skin cancer is just ludicrous,” she told Newstalk Breakfast. “It’s the most preventable type of cancer you can we have. And the one thing that’s involved is UV radiation.”

Professor Tobin expressed concern that it’s young people who are most likely to see the misinformation and believe it.

“Not using a sun block when you’re younger is incredibly dangerous, because the amount of sunburn you get adds up all over your lifetime. For example, a blistering sunburn in childhood or adolescence doubles your risk of melanoma in later life. So it’s a particularly worrying trend to be putting out there among a younger audience.”

This ‘anti-sunscreen trend’ comes at a time when people are getting skin cancers at a much younger age, she noted. “We’re seeing people in their 30s, which would have been very unusual, getting skin cancers. A lot of skin cancer is very treatable, but it does leave you with scars, and usually it’s in very obvious places on your face.”

Aside from health benefits, protecting skin from the sun is the single most effective anti-aging technique, she added.