Slip-Slop-Slap — Plus A New Label On The Bottle
- July 11th, 2007
- Posted by EUEditor
Europeans right now down at the beach may have started receiving advice from Brussels about the sunscreen they should be applying to ward off the dangers of UV.
The EU and its member governments have teamed up to run an awareness campaign, hoping to head off the many cases of skin damage, and cancers, that occur each year — especially when northern types plunge into the Mediterranean sun.
The government safety drive will include a new standardised logo on bottles of sunscreen indicating tested levels of UVA protection – ultraviolet category A.
Supporting promotional material explains:
“The new labels and a ban on misleading terms such as ‘sunblocker’ or ‘total protection’ are a response to a European Commission recommendation on sunscreen products adopted in September 2006 …
“The improved labelling regime is being phased in and will appear on 20% of sunscreen bottles this summer.
“While UV-B radiation is the cause of sun-burn, UV-A radiation causes premature skin ageing and interferences with the human immune system, and both types of radiation are important contributors to the skin-cancer risk.”
A large pile of supporting information boils down to the old campaign theme: slip on a tee-shirt, slop on some sunscreen, slap on a hat.