Healthy people, healthy places include sunscreen

As a father, scientist and resident of the beach, I care deeply about the health and well-being of my family, community and planet. Like most people, my family and I enjoy life outdoors by the ocean, but the sunshine that sustains our natural environment and attracts millions of visitors can also be deadly. Every hour, one American dies of melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer, and each year more than 3.5 million cases of skin cancer are diagnosed, making it the most common type of cancer.

In Hawaii, the rate of new melanoma diagnoses in Maui, Hawaii and Kauai counties is higher than the national average, and in Maui County, the rate is nearly double the national average. As a parent, the data is frightening.

But as a scientist, I know the best way to prevent skin cancer is to prevent sunburn and always use a broad-spectrum sunscreen when outdoors. Most sunscreens are regulated as over-the-counter medications, health-care products which are proven to help protect skin against the sun’s harmful and potentially cancer-causing rays.

In fact, government, professional and medical organizations — including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Federal Drug Administration, American Cancer Society, American Academy of Dermatology, Skin Cancer Foundation, Hawaii Department of Health, Hawaii Pacific Health and others — recommend broad-spectrum sunscreens to protect against both UVA and UVB radiation.

So, it’s not surprising that 2 out of 3 people in Hawaii say they use sunscreen for protection and 4 of 5 parents in Hawaii use it to protect their children.

What is surprising is that Hawaii lawmakers want to ban sunscreens with the ingredients oxybenzone and octinoxate — 70 percent of sunscreens on the market. Why? Because these ingredients are being falsely blamed for coral reef damage, even though every expert in Hawaii and around the world who studies the ocean environment agrees the leading causes of coral damage are climate change, pollution from injection wells, sewage, land runoff and sedimentation. Even those pushing for a sunscreen ban acknowledge that these are the real dangers to coral.

So why isn’t Hawaii’s Legislature focusing on the real causes? Why is it putting public health at risk with a proposed sunscreen ban instead? It is irresponsible policymaking at an extreme. And based on what evidence? Proponents of a sunscreen ban cite only two limited lab studies — not studies on actual reefs — even though a much larger body of research (including a recent study by the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology) shows that reef damage is occurring even in areas where human activity is either minimal or nonexistent, strongly suggesting sunscreens are not causing the problem.

When translating science into public policy, decisions should be based on the best evidence. When viewed in its entirety, the evidence on the real threats to coral reefs in Hawaii and around the world overwhelmingly points to climate change and pollution, not sunscreen.

We need lawmakers to address the real problems that put coral reefs at risk — clean up injection wells and ocean pollution, stop runoff and sedimentation near our coastlines, and strengthen the fight against climate change. We need to fix the real causes, rather than distract ourselves with a ban that won’t help reefs but will certainly hurt public health.

Promote healthy people and healthy places in Hawaii by saying “no” to a sunscreen ban, and “yes” to policies that seriously address real issues with real solutions.

Jay Sirois, Ph.D., is senior director of regulatory and scientific affairs at the Consumer Healthcare Products Association.