"Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. More than 1 million new cases are diagnosed every year."

Read more about the new rating system here: New Standards for Sunscreen.

It's a great idea, but will people actually pay attention? I know I'm much more zealous about using sunscreen on my children than I am on myself.

Thanks for the info! As someone who falls in the high risk category for skin cancer, I have to admit, it scares me.

Sun screen = the silent killer.

Advice to avoid sun exposure has been misguided information "of just breathtaking proportions," says Dr. John Cannell, head of the Vitamin D Council, a non-profit, California-based organization. "Fifteen hundred Americans die every year from skin cancers. Fifteen hundred Americans die every day from the serious cancers."

Skin cancer mortality rates didn’t rise steeply till 1971 when Americans were advised to use sunscreen lotions that blocked the vitamin D–producing UV-B sun rays. This permitted the deep penetrating UV-A sun rays to attack the skin without the protection of vitamin D. Only recently have researchers conceded that UV-A rays cause skin cancer. [Oncogene 25(26): 3680–8. June 22, 2006]

There is also a direct correlation between cancer rates and the amount of sunshine in geographic areas... the more sunshine the less cancer.

Very interesting! Something else I've wondered about is how often skin cancer might be related to the chemical ingredients in sunscreens...or skin products in general for that matter...

Great point.