The sea, a beach, and loads of sun - for many people these are the main ingredients of a perfect holiday. A corollary is that the darker the summer suntan, the better. But with 22,000 new cases of malignant skin cancer a year, experts warn against excessive sunbathing.
They urge people to change their thinking and protect their skin well in sunny weather. "We've got to get away from the false notion that being sun-tanned is beautiful and healthy," said Eva Kalbheim, spokesperson for Bonn- based German Cancer Aid. A suntan, she explained, was a defensive skin reaction to produce more of the pigment melanin to protect itself from too much harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
-DPA