The following is provided by the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database.

http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/special/sunscreens2008/

Click on the link to find out how the suncreen you may be using rates in both safety and effectiveness. You may be surprised!

Liz

By Rob Stein
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 11, 2008; A01

Increasing numbers of younger women continue to receive diagnoses of the most dangerous form of skin cancer even as the rate of new cases has leveled off in younger men, federal health officials reported yesterday.

An analysis of government cancer statistics from 1973 to 2004 found that the rate of new melanoma cases in younger women had jumped 50 percent since 1980 but did not increase for younger men in that period.

"It's worrying," said Mark Purdue, a research fellow at the National Cancer Institute, who led the analysis published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology. "What we are seeing in young adults right now could foretell a much larger number of melanoma cases in older women."

The new research did not examine the reasons for the trend, but Purdue said it could be the result of such factors as women spending more time outdoors and engaging in indoor tanning. Young women are much more likely than young men to frequent tanning salons, Purdue and others noted.

"One possible explanation is increases among young women of recreational sun exposure or tanning bed use," Purdue said. "Both of these things have been identified as risk factors. It's possible increases in these two behaviors may be responsible."

About 62,000 melanoma cases are diagnosed each year in the United States, and more than 8,400 people die of the disease, according to the American Cancer Society. Previous studies have shown that the rate of new diagnoses has been increasing among adults overall, but it was unclear what was happening with younger adults.

Purdue and his colleagues analyzed cancer statistics for men and women ages 15 to 39 collected through the NCI's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program, a network of regional cancer registries.

For young men, the rate of new melanoma cases rose from 4.7 cases per 100,000 per year in 1973 to 7.7 cases per 100,000 per year in 1980, but it then stopped rising.

"The reason for the leveling off in melanoma rates among young men is not known," Purdue said in an e-mail. "This may reflect reductions over time in the amount of sun exposure experienced by young men (public awareness campaigns regarding sun exposure and melanoma were widely launched in the US in the 1980s). However, we really don't know for sure."

For young women, the rate went from 5.5 cases per 100,000 per year in 1973 to 9.4 in 1980, and it kept rising to 13.9 in 2004.

"These findings are important because they suggest that public education campaigns to educate Americans about the risks of skin cancer from sun tanning do not appear to have resulted in a reduction in melanoma rates among young women," Purdue said.

The increase is unlikely to be simply the result of increased awareness and diagnosis, Purdue said, because the data also suggest the cancers are being found at a later stage.

Although better diagnosis cannot be ruled out, Ahmedin Jemal of the American Cancer Society said the increase was probably real. He noted that young women are more likely than young men to use sunscreens, which ironically lead to more sun exposure.

"They may feel more protected and so stay in the sun for a longer time," he said.

C. William Hanke, president of the American Academy of Dermatology, said the findings should serve as a reminder to young women about the dangers of unprotected outdoor sun exposure and indoor tanning.

"The take-home message is: Unprotected outdoor ultraviolet exposure is dangerous," Hanke said. "Ultraviolet radiation is a carcinogen. If you bathe your skin in the ultraviolet light carcinogen long enough, skin cancer is going to develop."

The tanning salon industry disputes assertions that indoor tanning is playing a role, saying the increase in diagnoses may be the result of better screening. The industry also challenges assertions that indoor tanning increases the risk of melanoma.

"For people to talk about indoor tanning as a cause of melanoma shows they haven't looked at the science on the subject," said Sarah Longwell, a spokeswoman for the Indoor Tanning Association. "It's shocking to make such a claim. There has been no scientific studies that show that indoor tanning causes melanoma. It's almost a reckless claim. It's an overt effort to slander the indoor tanning industry."

Hi All,

As some of you know, I preach to look for certain ingredients when selecting a sunscreen.

Pleas read the article below to further euducate yourself.

Take Care,

Liz

The Dark Side of Sunscreens

Sunday, June 29, 2008; N03

Here comes the sun -- and the most crucial time of year to protect yourself from it. Sunscreens, as most people know, are important for guarding against burns, skin cancer and premature aging. The catch is that certain ingredients found in many sunscreens might not be so green, or so safe.

Some studies have linked specific chemical UV filters with the transsexualization of male fish and coral reef degradation. They've also been associated with hormone-disrupting activity in lab tests (oxybenzone, also known as benzophenone-3; 4-MBC; and homosalate) and low birth weight in infant girls (specifically, oxybenzone -- a chemical found in urine samples of 97 percent of subjects in one recent study by the Centers for Disease Control). "We don't need to have sunscreens that end up in the blood of a kid," says Richard Wiles, co-founder of the Environmental Working Group, a Washington-based nonprofit. EWG's researchers say some sunscreens are better than others; the group operates a database of cosmetic products vetted for potential health hazards ( http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com). For its sunscreen section, updated each June, the organization subjects thousands of products to lab tests for effectiveness and combines the results with safety assessments of each ingredient.

Other experts maintain that there's nothing to worry about. "Some people feel there's no [federal] oversight, but that's not true," says John Bailey, chief scientist of the Personal Care Products Council, a trade association representing suncreen and other cosmetics manufacturers. The council runs its own Web site, http://www.cosmeticsinfo.org, that presents scientific information about various sunscreen ingredients. "The sunscreens' active ingredients are regulated by the FDA as over-the-counter drugs under a drug approval scheme that takes into account both safety and efficacy," he says. About the oxybenzone found in the CDC's study, he says, "These are very, very low levels, below levels that may be showing effects in animal or cell culture testing. All evidence that we have is that it's not a risk to health."

So what is an eco-minded beachgoer to do? Although the thought of tainting one's favorite swimming hole, or oneself, is alarming, it's also true that living in the modern world exposes us to plenty of chemicals as it is. And the potential risks of sunscreen are far less certain than the very real threat of skin cancer.

That said, if you're concerned about chemicals, sunscreen containing the naturally occurring minerals titanium dioxide and zinc oxide, which work as physical rather than chemical barriers, are less likely to be absorbed into the skin than many of their counterparts. They also work particularly well against deeper-penetrating, cancer-causing UVA rays (that is, when they're reapplied generously and frequently, and immediately after swimming). The catch? Those minerals, in large enough quantities, might not be great for fish either, and some formulas achieve a sheer, non-chalky effect by breaking the minerals into nano-size particles, which have their own set of safety concerns. "Evidence shows that [zinc and titanium nanoparticles] don't penetrate skin," says Wiles, "but we'd love to see more data."

On a reassuring note, sunscreens aren't your only line of defense against the rays (though few experts would suggest forgoing them altogether). Antioxidants such as green tea and natural sunlight absorbers such as shea butter can boost a cream's protective properties. Wearing hats and staying in the shade when possible are always smart strategies. And eating an antioxidant-rich diet consisting of plenty of fruits and vegetables also can help to minimize the risk of sun damage -- and their effects won't rub off.