It is being reported that the advent of cheap package holidays in the 1970’s has caused a massive increase in the number of skin cancer deaths amongst people in their 60’s and 70’s. The media are excellent at scaring us all and this report is more fuel for those who love doom and gloom stories. Is this just an attempt to stop us all going abroad on a cheap holiday or is it just a way of raising awareness of the fact that we should all wear sunscreen when we are in the sun.T
he headline on the BBC news website about cheap package holidays being the cause of this increase in skin cancer I think is utter nonsense. It’s not the fact that the holiday is cheap but it’s because we enjoy going out in the sun more and leading an outdoor life and in the 1970’s we were not aware of the dangers that the sun caused.
Who else should we blame for this increase in skin cancer? How about the airlines ? If airlines did not exist then we would all have to stay on cheap holidays in the UK and BBQ all summer in the rain! Or how-about blaming the holiday resorts for allowing us to sunbathe on their beaches? Maybe there should be skin cancer patrols where they hand out suncream and tell us to cover up.
Whilst I know that skin cancer is horrible and tragic the point I am making is that it can be caused even if you don’t go out much in the sun and it is not the fact that holidays are cheap that causes it. The message should be that we should all cover up in the sun and wear high factor sun cream. Maybe if the glossy magazines stopped showing attractive people with deep tans that would help as well, but I say long live cheap holidays !
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