Sunscreens targeted by deniers: from sunburn to skin cancer, here’s what you risk

Not just anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists who are wary of drugs and treatments. Even sunscreens have come under fire from deniers in recent years convinced that it is a “useless” product, spread “only to enrich industries” or even “carcinogenic” and “toxic”. Ato misinformation that spreads especially on social mediaattacking the institutional messages of prevention that are spread especially in the summer, and that is gaining followers also in Europe and even in our country. Also because ‘No-sunscreen’ influencers have followers far beyond continental borders.

The refusal of sunscreens, explains Giuseppe Argenziano, president of Sidemast (Italian Society of Dermatology and Sexually Transmitted Diseases), to Adnkronos Salute, “more than a fad I would say it is a paranoid attitude that unfortunately, as for anti-vax and anti-drug groups, can be very dangerous”. The point is that “90% of skin cancers are linked to sunburn and therefore sunscreen represents a good compromise between the desire for sun and caution. The ideal would be to try to avoid direct exposure to the sun or wear protective clothing. The best advice regarding creams is to use the maximum protection (50) and reapply the cream every 2 hours of exposure to the sun”.

Conspiracy influencers who are anti-sunscreen claim, among other things, that sunscreens prevent the absorption of vitamin D. “This is false,” Argenziano points out, “it’s an urban legend: vitamin D is produced by the skin in absolutely sufficient quantities if you use sunscreen.”

Sunscreens serve “to prevent two things: skin aging and skin cancers“, adds the Sidemast president. In this context “uncontrolled information on social media is very risky. It is wrong to question the importance of using sunscreens, whose shielding action is proven. And it should even be ‘boosted’, especially for lighter skin, avoiding long exposures, preferring the shade and even wearing a t-shirt in situations such as, for example, on a boat, or when playing on the beach”.

“The danger of fake social media, however – Argenziano points out – is also linked to the spread of DIY ‘recipes’ to make ‘natural’ sunscreens that have no filtering function: various oils, from olive to coconut, natural and animal fats” that do not put any barrier to sunburn.