Joe Levy from the American Suntanning Association and I attended the conference which was held May 1^st to 4^th in Toronto. The conference was 4 days of research, PR campaigns, intervention and prevention strategies aimed at reducing anyone exposure to UV light and sunbed use. It was even suggested to push for a total ban on sunbeds. But the consensus theme at the end of the conference did not recommend this. Health Canada is looking at regulations, exposure and lamp types throughout the world and a report should be out in 2019.

The research covered outdoor exposure, which included the need for more shaded area and higher use of sunscreens. Toronto seems to be leading this in Canada. Every time they do any remodeling of outdoor areas, they now have a mandate to have shaded area in them. This to me is beneficial in reducing the risk of skin cancer. There is still a push to use sunscreens all the time, which is reducing vitamin D production and other photoproducts. The latest Canadian stats now show there has been a 13% drop in vitamin D blood level in Canadian in just the last 6 years. I can understand the high use of sunscreens in Australia where the conference reported that Australia can reach a UV index of 20…now that’s extreme. The average Australia is Celtic. But in Canada, we have a hard time reaching a UV Index of 8. The highest we’ve reach is 11, and that’s unusual. Taking recommendation from Australia and using them here in Canada is absurd.

The Canadian Dermatology Association (CDA) said that anyone that thinks you should make vitamin D from the sun is crazy; you just need to take a supplement. This statement is one of the most ridiculous ones, even thought up by the Derms. We know from research that supplements don’t seem to work as well as producing vitamin D naturally in your skin. We also know that to reduce your risk of skin cancer, you need high levels of vitamin D in your skin right away. Our opponents downgrade any positive about UV light and heighten the risk. Maybe this is why they’re finding it hard to engage the public and government. They’re overstating the facts, and people know it. Some of the sessions presented information about how people are still sunburning and how people should be using more sunscreens. I suggest that people should use dual protection: Acclimatize your skin with a tan (make some D too) and use sunscreens when you’re going to be out in the sun too long.

There were several presentations on promoting their message about not sunburning and not using sunbeds for pretanning for a sunny vacation. The Scandinavian countries seems to be more interested in protecting their people when they go on holidays than we are. This to me is the right thing to be doing, except they should promote the use of sunbeds to acclimatize their people to a higher UV Index when on a sunny vacation. Why do they think letting a person who is white as a ghost go to a high UV index climate is the right thing to do? They need to build a base tan to reduce risk of sunburning. It’s no wonder Australian have the highest risk of sunburns and skin cancer; their skin is not prepared. This is why outdoor workers have a lower risk of melanoma than indoor workers. If you’re going on a sunny holiday, you better be prepared for it – get a tan.

There was a Canadian presentation about regulations in Canada and how they should be strengthened. It’s interesting that the JCTA has had these suggestions as part of it’s professional standards since inception, and insurance companies have them as part of their guidelines. Here’s what they suggest government should do for stronger regulations: mandate use of eyewear (provincial), skin typing, ban on self-serve equipment, and training program for staff (we probably won’t like their program as we saw what happened in Ontario and the JCTA helped stop).

This conference shows me, and I hope you as well, there is still a need for the JCTA and Smart Tan. The biggest thing this industry needs to do is to take control of the equipment and not let any person sunburn in a sunbed. It will only take one person to become the poster child for our opponents to use to show government we don’t care about our clients. We need to continue to promote sunburn prevention and the “Please Tan Responsibly” message. Based on the sessions in the conference on marketing, we spend less money and have better results than their campaigns. This can’t just be done by individual salons; it must be done by a united group. We need to continue to interact with government to show them we are a responsible industry.

Please don’t think that they will ever stop. It’s beneficial for them to get government and sunscreen funding. The upside is we seem to be able to engage with the public with our marketing campaigns, where they are having problems. Please support the JCTA and Smart Tan Canada – costing on average is $1.34 a day for a Combo Membership and your insurance helps pay for that.