Debate on Sunscreen

On a hot day, many go out into the sun . Most will put on some sunscreen, but is it really beneficial? Sunscreen, as other skincare products do, has chemicals that could ultimately be harmful to us. The Environment Working Group recently decided that oxybenzome and Vitamin A or retinyl palmitate area hazards to our health. The SPF rating shouldn't be trusted and that shows that overusing sunscreen could be a reason for low Vitamin D levels. The most disturbing thing is the vitamin A. tests show that mice have been diagnosed with skin cancer grow tumors faster when exposed to the sun's UV lights. Most doctors suggest that humans continue to use sunscreen to protect themselves from the sun's harmful rays until the FDA reviews it.
As obvious as it may be, this topic relates to biology because of skin cancer and the dangers that one can get from using sunscreen, If sunscreen really does cause skin cancer or tumors, then research would be done to know why. The general public would also stop using the product to protect their health. It really relates to biology because of our health and the human body; the way the chemicals affect our bodies in both positive and negative ways. The negative ways are the dangers and the positive way is protection form the sun's harmful rays.
We should care about this because there will always be sun out in the sky. And knowing that the stuff we put on our skin to protect us, may actually be harming us too; especially during the summer, where the sun's rays area t its highest. We CARE about our lives and would want to extend it as much as possible. Knowing the pros and cons could help us accomplish that goal. And people would want to know so that they would understand that they might be purposely hurting themselves by putting on sunscreen.

Source: Metro Newspaper July 14, 2010 pg. 8