Maintain pressure on reforms to protect NHSCancer risk as Scots use chip fat to boost tans
Scots have the highest risk of contracting skin cancer in the UK because some choose to go out in the sun wearing moisturiser, baby oil and even chip fat instead of protective sun cream, research shows.
A survey by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB) found that 20% of Scots admitted to ‘binge’ tanning, and one in four said they used sun lotions with lower than recommended protection.
Almost half of the 1,000 people questioned in Scotland also said they had experimented with different products in order to create their own sun lotions. These included cooking oils and moisturiser.
The RPSGB urged sunbathers to purchase high-factor lotions in order not to ‘fry’ this summer.
RPSGB spokeswoman Laura Wilson said: ‘This is a serious issue. I am worried that people still think the warnings about the sun do not apply to them. In Scotland we have higher rates of melanoma than in Australia.
‘Scots tend to think they do not need to use sun creams at home but people must respect the sun at all times and make sure they use a recommended sun protection cream.’
The research found that blistering or peeling skin from spending too long in the sun had been experienced by four in 10 of those surveyed.
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