Sun worshippers foolishly ignore exposure warnings

YOU’D THINK it would be obvious by now that the
leather look is out. When a deeply tanned sun worshipper
walks by, he or she looks less like a bronzed god/dess and
more like 4 pitiful pre-cancerous ignoramus.

At least that’s how 1 see it.
But old habits seem to die hard.

‘Reports from a loca! hairdresser

are that their sunbed is more

popular than ever, only a minority

of kids and adults at local beaches
are seen wearing hats and T-
shirts, and I recently overheard the

‘receptionist in a local doctor's of-

fice trying to get sympathy fora
painful sunburn she had incurred
over the weekend while sun-
bathing unprotected.

Call me harsh, but anyone who

‘expects sympathy for a burn after

hearing daily warnings on the dire
consequences of UV exposure
needs to be told to get with the
program...

What seems even more odd to
me is that product manufacturers

“have been relatively slow to make

sun protection a large part of their,
marketing scheme.. ~
By this time, I had fully ex-

pected a great upsurge in the

_ with SPF included, ‘and even more

sads promoting beach umbrellas,
-parasols and shade awnings. .

-° Lexpect that eventually we still |
return to the fashion of our
'foremothers and grandmothers,
when a pale complexion was the

'. stuff that odes were made of.

Even Snow White got raves for °

“her colorless visage (although, as ©. :

anyone who’s recently seen the .

. Disney re-release will attest, that

“might only have been to ‘detract,

attention from her fi ingernails-

oni-the-blackboard singing voice). :
In the meantime, however, here

is a reminder as to why we are so |.

worried about our atmospheric

“state of affairs and seme tips as to

how.to combat them., ;
: As you know, our protective
ozone layer is in a pretty bleak
tate...
Every year we break records fer ,
ts depletion; last year, the ozone
“layer over Canada was 10% thin-
ner than it had been in the past.
Lest you forget, the ozone in
the upper atmosphere wears the
white hat.

J} It’s the ground-level ozone

reated as a reaction from our
vehicular exhaust that wears the

flower show

“THE B.C. “Fuchsia \and Begonia .

‘Society will hold its annual flower

v, Show. on. Saturday and. Sunday,

July 24 and 25, in the Floral Hall

at VanDusen ‘Botanical Garden,
5251 Oak St. in Vancouver.”

Show hours are. to 8 p.m. on

ECO INFO

‘black hat, and causes estimated
millions of dollars of damage to
Fraser: Valley crops and takes a

. tol on human respiratory health,

‘Our upper-atmosphere ozone

'_ serves to absorb harmful UV-B

rays, which, along with UV-C and
UV-A rays, are of greater energy
‘on the light spectrum than the

~ visible light sent from the sun. ::

Ozone is created when the ox-
ygen (02) in the atmosphere is
broken apart into two single

: atoms after absorbing the UV-C .
rays. .

‘Single oxygen atoms then team
up.with existing oxygen molecules

.to form 03, or ozone. The ozone’
can then absorb what’s left of the:

‘UV-C, as well as UV-B, before i it
then splits apart, : .

‘But ozone is being destroyed by

catalysts such as chlorine, from
CFCs, and bromine.

_ Chlorine is especially virulent —
one atom can destroy 100,000

ozone molecules before it is deac-
tivated.

_A depleted ozone layer means a
greater amount of earth-surface
exposure to UV-B, resulting in an
increase of skin cancers (some
fatal), more cataracts, and
perhaps a decreased effectiveness
in our immune systems.

“Saturday and +10 am. to S pm. f

/ on Sunday. .

Admission will be $1 for adults;

‘children will be admitted free. -

in. addition to ‘the show, there
“will be a plant sale, door prizes
‘and refreshments available.
t The show. will
‘varieties of fuchsias, begonias and
_ other shade-loving planis.

> Club members will answer ques-.

tions: regarding the growing and
;Maintenance of the flowers.

~The competition component is
open to club members only and
judging: will take place before the
, show.”

: For. more information call Jim.
MacNaughton at 926-9214,

feature many. §

It is also thought that the pro-
ductivity of plankton, the basis of
our food chain, is compromised.

And industry has already been
affected; Australian sheep farmers
actually jacket their sheep because
the UV-B adversely affects the
lanolin content in their wool.

For your own sake, keep the
following in mind:

@ ft doesn’t take a bright, sunny
day to make a sunburn.

As you can see by the UV ad-
visories in weather reports, hazy
days are just as dangerous.

@ Apply skin protection every
morning. .

‘SPF 15 cuts out approximately
95% of the sun’s harmful rays, so
it’s the minimum you should use.

The jury is out as to whether it,
is worth piling extra chemicals on
your face to get the added protec-
tion of higher SPF products.

@ Look for the mark of approval
on suncare products offered by
the Canadian Dermatologists’
Association. ;

The only one I have seen on
local shelves is Ombrelle, SPF 15.
© Invest in some good sunglasses
that shield both UV-A and B rays

—- and don’t forget to wear them, .

even if it doesn’ t seem too bright
out.
@ Makea good, ‘broad- brimmed .

hat part of your everyday ward. |,
robe, :

- Treat yourself to a couple of
different styles and make a fash-
ion statement while you’re at it.
® Don’t depend on clothes to
protect you.

Surprisingly, a thin T-shirt only

offers an SPF of about 6 or 7.
Wear densely woven clothes, and

- go for black, not white — white
“reflects the sun’s rays up into your

face.
@ Allof the above goes double
for your kids, ~

The sun exposure they get as
children is more damaging to their
future health than that they
receive as adults.

Some schools — especially in |
Australia — are adopting a no-
hat, no-playground rule that
keeps kids indoors if they arrive
hatless.
® Talk to your vet about sun,
protection for your lightly furred
pets. .

FACTORY FUTON

Friday, July 9, 1993 - North Shore News - 45

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