Cities graded on sun protection

Dermatology Nursing, Feb, 2008

The American Academy of Dermatology's "RAYS: Your Grade" survey polled adults in 32 U.S. metropolitan regions spanning 29 states and assigned rankings to cities based on residents' answers to a range of questions testing their knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors toward tanning and sun protection. Cities were then ranked based on the percentage of people who scored As and Bs.

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Attitudes

* Nearly three-quarters (73%) of adults feel that people look more attractive with a tan.

* Eight out of 10 (83%) Tampa residents agree that people look more attractive with a tan.

* 39% of Salt Lake City residents believe that people do not look more attractive with a tan.

* More than two-thirds (68%) of adults feel that having a tan makes people look healthier.

* Nearly half (45%) of Washington, DC, respondents disagree that people look healthier with a tan, followed closely by Salt Lake City residents (44%).

* Nearly eight out of 10 (79%) Tampa residents agree that people look healthier with a tan, followed closely by Cleveland residents (76%) and Cincinnati residents (76%).

* Nearly half (47%) of adults incorrectly believe that sun exposure is healthy.

* 60% of Dallas residents incorrectly believe that sun exposure is healthy.

* 65% of Philadelphia residents know that sun exposure is not healthy, followed closely by Baltimore residents (63%).

* More than one-third (37%) of adults incorrectly believe their skin type means they don't have to worry about sun exposure.

* Almost half (49%) of Chicago residents incorrectly believe that given their skin type, they don't have to worry too much about sun exposure.

* Four out of five (80%) adults are concerned about skin cancer and feel it is important to protect themselves.

* Nine out of 10 (89%) Houston residents are concerned about skin cancer and feel it is important to protect themselves.

* About one-quarter (26%) of Maine residents are not concerned about skin cancer and do not feel it is important to protect themselves.

* Almost one in four adults (24%) incorrectly believe that given the climate in which they live, they don't have to worry about skin cancer.

* Nearly half (44%) of Seattle residents and one-third (35%) of Detroit residents incorrectly believe that the climate they live in means they don't have to worry about skin cancer.

* 86% of Tampa residents understand that the climate they live in means they need to worry about skin cancer.

Behaviors

* Four in 10 (42%) adults report having sunbathed in the past year.

* 11% of Tampa residents report sunbathing more than 50 days in the past year vs. an average of 3% of adults across all cities polled.

* Nearly one in 10 (9%) adults have used sun lamps or tanning beds in the past year.

* 95% of Phoenix residents report never having used sun lamps or tanning beds in the past year.

* One in three adults report at least one sunburn that resulted in peeled skin (30%) and 5% report at least one burn that resulted in blistering in the past year.

* Fewer than one in five (18%) of Baltimore residents experienced peeling and blistering (1%) from sun exposure.

* More than two out of five (42%) Cincinnati residents report at least one sunburn that resulted in peeling and 13% report at least one burn that resulted in blistering.

* Nearly two-thirds (65%) of adults got a tan last year.

* Despite the sunny, warm climate year-round, nearly half of Miami residents (45%) did not get a tan last year, helping it rank as the No. 3 sun-smart city.

* Half (50%) of adults have been sunburned at least once in the past year.

* Two-thirds (66%) of Cincinnati residents have been sunburned at least once in the past year, contributing to Cincinnati's No. 24 ranking.

* A majority (71%) of adults do not apply sunscreen on an average day.

* 78% of Portland residents do not apply sunscreen on an average day.

* About one-quarter (23%) of adults never examine their own skin for changes to moles and other skin blemishes.

* Despite their No. 5 ranking, one-third (34%) of Los Angeles residents never examine their own skin for changes to moles and other skin blemishes.

* More than half (54%) of adults have never been screened for skin cancer by a health care provider.

* 66% of Chicago residents and 64% of St. Louis residents have never been screened for skin cancer by a health care provider, which contributed to low rankings for Chicago and St. Louis.

Knowledge

* Almost two-thirds (65%) of adults know that sun exposure during childhood is related to skin cancer in adulthood.

* Nearly three-fourths (74%) of Portland residents know that sun exposure during childhood is related to skin cancer in adulthood.

* Almost two-thirds (63%) of adults know that you can get skin cancer on parts of your skin that are never exposed to the sun.

* Nearly three-fourths of Los Angeles residents (75%) and Seattle residents (73%) know that you can get skin cancer on parts of your skin that are never exposed to the sun.

* More than half (52%) of adults know that getting a base tan is not a healthy way to protect skin from sun damage.