The sunburnt country turned things around. But it can’t stop now

It is a fact rolled out at this time of year as millions of Australians prepare to spend their summer holidays by the beach, BBQ or pool – Australia has the highest incidence of melanoma in the world.

But, even though about two-thirds of us will be diagnosed with some form of skin cancer throughout our lifetime, and one in 15 will be diagnosed with melanoma, for public health experts, this is a good news story.

Since the late ’90s, the risk of an Australian developing melanoma by the age of 30 has fallen. In 2020, that risk – one in 1170 people – was half of what it was in 1997, according to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. The risk of a person developing melanoma by age 60 has stabilised during this time.

While the lifetime risk of a person being diagnosed with melanoma has tripled since 1982 to one in 15 people in 2020, this is largely explained by an ageing population.

Writing this year in The Medical Journal of Australia, Australians of the Year professors Richard Scolyer and Georgina Long and their Melanoma Institute colleague Professor Anne Cust remarked that the declining incidence of melanoma in younger Australians could only partially be explained by migration patterns, adding, “changes in sun exposure and protective behaviours probably underlie the decline”.

Australia’s public health response to skin cancer risk should be celebrated. But this makes concerns held by public health experts that gains made could be lost even more worrying.

With the rise of social media, young people are being exposed to anti-sun safety messaging with little regulation.

While the teenagers of 20 years ago would sit down to watch television during the summer holidays with ad breaks packed full of the “Slip, Slop, Slap” campaign, today, a scroll on TikTok can turn up dozens of videos promoting “safer” tanning techniques or straight-up challenging young people to strive for their darkest tan line.

As reported by Mary Ward today, the NSW branch of the Australian Medical Association (AMA) is launching a new sun safety campaign dubbed “Sun Checks for Saxon”.

The campaign is named for the late Dr Saxon Smith, a Sydney dermatologist and former NSW AMA president whose groundbreaking 2015 publication on sunscreen education led to important changes in how medical students, doctors, and the public were taught about the primary prevention of skin cancer.

His research focused on attitudes towards sunscreen and sun safety, showing many people had no idea sunscreen had an expiry date, needed to be stored under 25 degrees to remain effective, or that about two tablespoons were required to cover the whole body.

This lack of knowledge was targeted well by education campaigns. But, as a new generation of Australians head to the beach to tan, a renewed effort is needed.

This summer, Australians should heed Smith’s advice and take sun protection seriously, remembering that sunscreen is the final line of defence after wearing appropriate clothing and seeking shade.

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