Slip-Slop-Slap
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Slip-Slop-Slap is the name of a health campaign in Australia exhorting people to "slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, and slap on a hat" when they go out into the sun, in order to protect themselves against an increased risk of skin cancer.[1] It is probably Australia's most recognizable health message.
The campaign started in 1981; its mascot is a seagull called Sid.[2]
The health campaign was extended in later years to encourage the use of sunglasses and shade. That is, slip on a shirt, slop on the sunscreen, slap on a hat, seek shade, slide on some sunnies: "Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek, Slide". By this stage however the skin cancer aware message of the campaign had successfully been absorbed into the Australian psyche.
It is also used in New Zealand, where the mascot is a lobster, voiced by Ants from What Now. Some Canadian cities have also started their own Slip-Slop-Slap campaigns.
[edit] Effect on cancer rates
Since this campaign was introduced along with advertisements and a jingle, the incidence of the two most common forms of skin cancer (basal-cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma) in Australia has decreased. However the incidence of melanoma - the most lethal form of skin cancer - has increased. [3]
Vitamin D deficiency has also greatly increased (which can lead to cancers), since sunblock also prevents vitamin D production in the skin.[4] Doctors recommend spending small amounts of time in the sun without sun protection to ensure adequate production of vitamin D.[5] When the UV index is greater than 3 (which occurs daily within the tropics and daily during the spring and summer seasons in temperate regions) adequate amounts of vitamin D3 can be made in the skin after only ten to fifteen minutes of sun exposure at least two times per week to the face, arms, hands, or back without sunscreen. With longer exposure to UVB rays, an equilibrium is achieved in the skin, and the vitamin simply degrades as fast as it is generated.[6]
[edit] References
- ^ Stephen Lunn (7 January 2008). "Sun worshippers need a slap of reality". The Australian. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23015412-23289,00.html.
- ^ http://www.cancer.org.au/cancersmartlifestyle/SunSmart/Campaignsandevents/SlipSlopSlap.htm
- ^ Garland C, Garland F, Gorham E (1992). "Could sunscreens increase melanoma risk?". Am J Public Health 82 (4): 614–5. doi:. PMID 1546792. http://www.ajph.org/cgi/reprint/82/4/614.
- ^ http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/12/08/1196813083745.html
- ^ http://www.theage.com.au/news/national/be-sunsmart-avoid-bone-dgeneration-risks/2007/12/08/1196813083751.html
- ^ "Dietary Supplement Fact Sheet: Vitamin D". National Institutes of Health. Archived from the original on 2007-09-10. http://www.webcitation.org/5Rl5u0LB5. Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
