Men missing out on sun protection ads

Reported by Susan Aldridge, PhD, medical journalist

A survey shows that most sunscreen ads are aimed at women.
Everyone needs to use sunscreen to protect against skin cancer, especially those who like outdoor sports. But a survey from researchers at Yale School of Medicine suggests that sunscreen promotion ads are not reaching all who need to see them.

The study covered 579 issues of a total of 24 different magazines and revealed that 77 per cent of them were in women's magazines. There were fewer than one per issue in parent and family magazines and less than one in every six issues in sports magazines. Moreover, the ads did not give the full information on the product. The International Agency for Research on Cancer says that a sunscreen ought to have a sun protection factor of at least 15 and offer protection from both UVA and UVB. It also needs to be reapplied frequently. The experts say it would be a good idea if ads were placed in men's and sporting magazines too.

Source
American Journal of Health Promotion May 2006

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