Slip, slap, slop this summer
Posted on 31. May, 2010 by Claire in News
The jokey image of the Englishman in summer, with a handkerchief on his head and painful looking sunburn is obviously an all too common reality. Today’s news that skin cancer is killing more men than women comes as no surprise. Not only are men not used to slathering themselves in creams like women, but they are also much worse at seeing a GP if there is a chance there might be something amiss.
The British obsession with getting a suntan is well-known; when I lived in Australia, the only people sunbathing in the heat of the day were Brits (me included). Australians would be careful to follow the ‘Slip, Slap, Slop’ campaign, that is slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat, and understandably so, as skin cancer affects around 1 in 3 people there. My time there definitely changed my attitude towards sunbathing.
Undoubtedly, if we had more sunshine, we’d be less inclined to overdo it the minute the sun comes out. Once a sun worshipper, I now make sure I have at least SPF 25 on my face every day, and nothing less than SPF 30 if I’m going to be out in the sun. It’s just not worth it. What we need here is a really memorable campaign to raise awareness, like Slip, Slap, Slop.
neilcrump
31. May, 2010
I’ve noticed lots of campaigns reaching out to women on skin cancer and sun damage but cannot recall any for us boys. Nearly all my male friends regularly burn themselves in the sun (hardly any of my female friends let themselves get burnt).
One thing I noticed this February when I was in Oz is the number of pathology labs that you come across. When I asked an Ozzie friend about them they explained that they were were you can drop in for a skin check. Apparently in Australia skin cancer is the number one cause of lost working days.
Phaedrus
03. Jun, 2010
I must say, as a member of the less fair sex, that I for one am a keen proponent of sunscreen. I slopped and slapped it on last weekend and still came out with a decent bit of bronzing. So lather up boys, there’s no reason not to!
Neil’s comment also reminds me of some of Jack Dee’s stand up material that often makes me chuckle when the sun shines. Dee insists that at the end of UK airport travelators, there is simply a turntable that fries you pink and sends you home again. He also informs us that there are beach wardens in Australia who politely suggest to sunbathers when they might wish to take a break from the UV rays. While the locals appreciate the advice, such is the stubborn British way of holiday lobsterisation, that the wardens’ most common response from beaching Brits is, “I think I’ll be the judge of that!”
We should take a leaf out of the Ozzies’ book and take care of our skin this summer – it could be a very hot one.
NW1er
03. Jun, 2010
I went on holiday to India recently. Not thinking about sun damage, I did not buy any cream and relied on that of my girflriend – who is Asian. Needless to say factor 10 does nothing for a lephrecaun and I now have a sun damaged back from a mere 10 minutes in the sea. Ouch