The new ‘position paper’ by the Cultural Association of Pediatricians (Acp) on the health risks of sunscreens and sunscreens continues to spark discussion. After the controversy over X, now comes the distancing of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità. The ISS, cited by the ACP in its document, intervened on the Facebook page ‘Acp per famiglie’ responding to a user who asked if the ISS agreed with what the pediatricians wrote. “The Istituto Superiore di Sanità is cited in the ‘position paper’ but none of its experts were consulted in the preparation of the document, therefore the positions expressed cannot be associated with those of the Institute”, reads the ISS’s response.
“With regard to the statements reported in the presentation post of the document – adds the ISS – we specify the following: sunscreens should be used when exposure is unavoidable not because they are considered dangerous, but because their effectiveness is limited for various reasons. Because the protection from UV is not 100% (a cream with SPF 15 lets 7% of UV rays pass through the skin, one with SPF 30 3%, one with SPF 50 2%), because people do not use them as intended (i.e. using adequate quantities and repeating the application as suggested, this also due to the cost of the creams) and because they give a false sense of security that leads people to prolong exposure”. For this reason “they must be considered as the last resort when all other preventive measures are not adopted (by choice or impossibility, let’s consider that there are also people who work under the sun, we are not just talking about ‘recreational’ exposure). Once it becomes necessary to use sunscreens, then they should not be used ‘as little as possible’, but on the contrary ‘as much as possible’, spreading them abundantly and repeating the application”
The ACP position paper instead highlighted that “exposure to the sun is good, but sunburn must be absolutely avoided, especially at a young age. However, the only way to avoid sunburn cannot and must not be sunscreen, which can present underestimated health risks”. The document is signed by a team of pediatricians and dermatologists, who took into consideration the latest scientific research available on sunscreens. “A review of scientific studies conducted to date has not demonstrated that the use of UV filters is associated with a lower risk of skin cancer”, the document reads.
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