Under the scorching Dutch sun, the government is giving away sunscreen
Across Europe, skin cancer rates have risen sharply over the past two decades, and in the Netherlands they have reached record levels. So here is what his government has come up with. The Guardian article
Dutch citizens will receive free sunscreen this summer to tackle the country's record levels of skin cancer.
According to the government, sunscreen dispensers will be available this summer in schools and universities, festivals, parks, sports facilities and public open spaces across the country.
The government has said it wants to enable everyone to have access to sunscreen and not be penalized by factors such as cost or inconvenience – writes The Guardian .
In a public health initiative that is said to be similar in scope to – and in part inspired by – Australia's decade-old “slip, slop, slap” campaign, which encourages people to put on a shirt, slather on sunscreen and put on a hat, Dutch authorities hope the campaign will turn the act of applying sunscreen into an unquestioned habit.
According to public broadcaster NOS, the campaign was launched over the weekend at a festival in the city of Breda.
Venlo-Venray hospital, near the German border, is said to be collaborating with state health insurers to finance the distribution of sunscreen in 120 primary schools in several municipalities. A spokesman for the clinic said one of its dermatologists came up with the idea of converting hand sanitizer dispensers, installed during the pandemic, into sunscreen.
Medical authorities have reported a record increase in skin cancer cases in recent years. Sunscreen is proven to be the best protection against the disease and children should get used to applying it from an early age so that it becomes a ritual like brushing their teeth, said a councilor at a North Sea seaside resort.
Jacco Knape, from the seaside town of Katwijk, said: "It costs a bit of money, but we care about the health of citizens," he added: "We regularly see people enjoying the sun but neglecting to protect themselves and, given that Katwijk gets an above-average amount of sunshine, that's not good."
Across Europe, skin cancer rates have increased over the past two decades. In neighboring Germany, the number of deaths from skin cancer increased by 55% in 2021 compared to 2001, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
According to experts, a reduction in skin cancers would lead to significant health savings.
Exceptionally high temperatures were recorded across central Europe over the weekend and are expected to continue in the coming weeks.
Poland, France and Germany are experiencing some of the warmest temperatures, while the Nordic and Mediterranean countries are cooler than normal for this time of year.
(Excerpt from the foreign press review by eprcomunicazione )
This is a machine translation from Italian language of a post published on Start Magazine at the URL https://www.startmag.it/sanita/sotto-il-sole-cocente-dellolanda-il-governo-regala-creme-solari/ on Sat, 17 Jun 2023 05:18:21 +0000.