Vitamin D author slams misleading sunscreen claims

The author of a new bestselling book on Vitamin D has slammed the Melanoma Foundation for making misleading comments about melanoma and sunscreens.

The Foundation has published research claiming men are not using sunscreen enough, and risk melanoma as a result. However, Vitamin D book author Ian Wishart says the Melanoma Foundation is playing fast and loose with the truth, and its “advice could kill people”.

“The Foundation’s website shows it is funded by sunscreen manufacturers and an advertising agency. Worse, their advice flies in the face of the latest scientific studies and that advice could kill people.”

Wishart says his new book devotes three chapters to sunscreen effectiveness, and he says the science is overwhelming:

“Study after study is showing the sunscreens cannot and do not protect you against melanoma. The sunscreen manufacturers are laughing all the way to the bank with the free publicity they get, but using sunscreen to combat melanoma doesn’t work and may actually cause melanoma.”

WIshart made the same point in a discussion with Newstalk ZB host Leighton Smith earlier today, and in an interview with Talk Radio Europe’s Steve Gilmour:

Leighton

“Safety of sunscreens is a concern”, reports one study author Dr Marianne Berwick, of the University of New Mexico’s Cancer Centre and Department of Internal Medicine. “Sunscreen companies have emotionally and inaccurately promoted the use of sunscreens”. – Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, January 2011

Details of the new vitamin D book are available at the publisher’s website, vitamindbook.com