A bottle of sun tan lotion and sunglasses on top of a cooler carried onto Miami Beach, Fla., by tourists. In a study released Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says half of adults under 30 say they’ve had a sunburn at least once in the past year. Experts worry it’s a sign young people aren’t paying much attention to warnings about skin cancer.ATLANTA – The warnings about skin cancer from too much sun don’t seem to be getting through.
Half of U.S. adults under 30 say they have had a sunburn at least once in the previous year – about the same as a decade ago, according to a government survey released Thursday. In fact, the modest progress reported five years ago has been wiped out.
Not only that, but women in their 20s are going to tanning salons almost twice a month on average.
“I don’t know that we’re making any headway,” said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, the American Cancer Society’s deputy chief medical officer.
Experts say that even one blistering burn can double the risk of developing melanoma, an often lethal form of skin cancer.