Don't go for the burn

FDA Consumer, Nov, 1999

Don't go for the burn ... Sunbathers don't head indoors until they start to burn, say researchers who studied time spent in the sun by 87 French and Swiss college students. Half of the students used sunscreen with a protection factor of 10 and the other half sunscreen with a factor of 30. The students were not told which lotion they received.

Users of the stronger sunscreen spent 25 percent more time in the sun, the study found. Researchers concluded that sunscreens tend to encourage prolonged sun exposure because they delay sunburn, which helps explain why previous studies have linked sunscreen use with higher skin cancer rates. (Journal of the National Cancer Institute, August 1999)