EDITORIAL: VICTORIANS are slowly but surely losing their desire to get a tan.
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New fake products and the risk of getting skin cancer are turning many people off baking their skin in the hot sun.
However, there are still too many people risking their lives in pursuit of browner skin with a recent survey by the Victorian Anti-Cancer Council showing that 44 per cent still think that having a tan makes you look healthier.
They could not be more mistaken. Seeking a tan is one of the most dangerous things a person can do.
Changing the way Australians think about their exposure to the sun has been a constant battle and it is not over yet by any means.
You only have to look at our local beaches on a hot summer’s day to see that many people think it is OK to get sunburnt.
Australia still has one of the highest skin cancer rates in the world, yet it is one of the most preventable types of cancer.
More than 2000 Victorians were diagnosed with melanoma in 2014 with 374 dying of the disease.
While melanoma diagnoses continue to rise in Victoria, they are falling in people younger than 45. Rising incidence rates are slowing in older age groups, reflecting a change of behaviour in line with “sun smart” campaigns.
As Victoria heads into the hottest month of February, the Victorian government will launch a six-week print, radio and TV campaign featuring the story of Wes Bonny, who died of melanoma in 2010 aged just 26.
Having banned tanning salons, a measure that came into effect on January 1, the Victorian government is considering tightening a ban on tanning beds in a bid to stop people using them in their homes.
This would be the obvious next step in the fight against skin cancer, a battle that has dragged on for way too long as it is.
In the meantime as the weather heats up through February and into March, remember that although getting a tan might make you feel healthy in the short-term you might actually be playing with your life.