{"id":4079,"date":"2005-09-12T19:42:20","date_gmt":"2005-09-12T23:42:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2005\/09\/12\/second-thoughts-about-sunscre"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:57:25","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:57:25","slug":"second-thoughts-about-sunscreen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2005\/09\/12\/second-thoughts-about-sunscreen\/","title":{"rendered":"second thoughts about sunscreen?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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You knew this was coming (Harvard Magazine<\/EM>, “<\/FONT>Too Much Sunscreen?<\/FONT><\/A>,” <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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by Craig Lambert, Sept-Oct. 2005):<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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[A]ccording to a new theory, sealing our skins off from the sun <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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may cause more cancer deaths than it prevents.<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> <\/DIV>
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“Associate professor of medicine Edward Giovannucci notes<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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that UV-B radiation, the source of suntan and sunburn, is also <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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the component of sunlight that enables human skin . . .  to <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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synthesize the “sunshine vitamin” —D— used by every type <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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of cell in the human body. Animal research has associated a <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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lack of vitamin D with multiple sclerosis, osteoporosis, and <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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pathological processes that underlie several forms of cancer, <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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including those of the colon, breast, prostate, and digestive tract, <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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such as stomach cancer. “If you look at these cancers as a group,” <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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says Giovannucci, who is also a professor of nutrition and epidemiology <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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at the Harvard School of Public Health, “you’ll see that 30 people die of <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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these cancers for every one who dies of skin cancer.” . . .<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN> <\/DIV>
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<\/SPAN><\/SPAN> \"d    <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN>“Giovannucci acknowledges that the evidence for these theories is <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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still <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN>weak: there has not been a good double-blind controlled study, lasting <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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perhaps 20 years, that compares people getting sun exposure to a placebo <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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group. “But almost every other bit of evidence suggests that vitamin D is <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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beneficial,” he says. “More sun, and higher rates of vitamin D, correlate with <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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fewer cancers. It might ultimately prevent only a fraction, perhaps 30 percent, <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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of those cancers it seems to affect. But that would still be vastly more cases <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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than any skin cancers it causes. I don’t recommend that people go out and <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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get sunburned—use common sense. But if the studies hold up, vitamin D will <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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be a relatively important factor, since it affects such a large number of cancers. <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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It may be time to rethink the message we are sending about sunlight.”<\/FONT><\/DIV><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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Heads up, <\/FONT>Evan<\/FONT><\/A> and<\/EM> <\/FONT>Walter<\/FONT><\/A>!  There’s gotta be a lawsuit here somewhere. <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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The beetle I righted<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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flies straight into<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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a cobweb<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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<\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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earplugs<\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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now my heart is<\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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too loud<\/SPAN><\/DIV><\/DIV><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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<\/SPAN> <\/DIV>
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         <\/FONT><\/FONT>George Swede<\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/A> <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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              from <\/FONT>Almost Unseen<\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/EM><\/A> <\/FONT><\/SPAN><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT><\/SPAN> <\/DIV><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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\"spider<\/EM><\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/EM><\/FONT> <\/DIV>
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as the spider <\/FONT><\/DIV>
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goes down the drain<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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a second thought<\/FONT><\/DIV>
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<\/FONT><\/EM> <\/DIV>
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      Tom Clausen<\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/A><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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       <\/FONT>Upstate Dim Sum<\/FONT><\/EM><\/A><\/FONT> (2003\/I)<\/FONT><\/EM><\/DIV><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/FONT><\/EM> <\/DIV>
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Mom’s sunburnt back…<\/DIV>
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first the youngest touches it,<\/DIV>
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then the eldest<\/DIV>
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 <\/DIV>
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        <\/FONT>Randy Brooks<\/STRONG><\/FONT><\/A> <\/EM> <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/DIV>
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                from <\/EM><\/FONT><\/FONT>School’s Out<\/EM><\/FONT><\/A> <\/DIV>
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 <\/DIV>
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<\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT> <\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE>
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<\/EM><\/FONT> <\/P><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/SPAN><\/SPAN><\/FONT><\/DIV><\/BLOCKQUOTE><\/FONT><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You knew this was coming (Harvard Magazine, “Too Much Sunscreen?,” by Craig Lambert, Sept-Oct. 2005): [A]ccording to a new theory, sealing our skins off from the sun may cause more cancer deaths than it prevents.   “Associate professor of medicine Edward Giovannucci notes that UV-B radiation, the source of suntan and sunburn, is also the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":94,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2926],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4079","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-pre-06-2006"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6kP1R-13N","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4079","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/94"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4079"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4079\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13035,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4079\/revisions\/13035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4079"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4079"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4079"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}