Concern about the effect of stratospheric ozone depletion has drawn attention to the incidence of skin cancer, which is already high in some countries and is increasing in others. Predictions of increased rates of skin cancer associated with ozone depletion are based on the belief that these tumours are related to sunlight.

Many governments and other public health bodies are either contemplating or initiating educational programmes to prevent skin cancer. In Britain the Health of the Nation set the ambitious target “to halt the year-on-year increase in skin cancer by the year 2005.”1 Responding to this, a British working party on skin cancer prevention, comprising representatives of the health professions, health education workers, and cancer funding agencies, has issued a consensus statement on sunlight and skin cancer.2

It lays out in eight points the working party's view that skin cancer is related to overexposure to sunlight and that “in four out of five cases, skin cancer is a preventable disease.” A four point approach to minimising skin damage from the sun …