SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. (Jan. 20) — The nation’s largest dermatology organization is deliberately misleading the American public about vitamin D according to the Vitamin D Council, an independent non-profit group dedicated to ending vitamin D deficiency.

In a position statement released Wednesday, the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) falsely claimed that sun exposure is not necessary to make sufficient levels of “the sunshine vitamin.” Furthermore, the Academy failed to acknowledge its own massive conflict of interest in advising the public on this issue.

The American Academy of Dermatology receives millions of dollars in funding directly and indirectly from pharmaceutical groups who have successfully rebranded sunscreen as a daily-use product instead of a product to be used just when sunburn is possible. The over-use of sunscreen in daily cosmetics is widely recognized outside of dermatology as one of the main reasons vitamin D levels have dropped significantly in the United States in the past generation, according to the federal government’s own data.

“The AAD’s new statement is more about protecting AAD and its pharmaceutical partners from the potential liability of misleading the public for an entire generation into over-using sunscreen, which has caused vitamin D levels to drop,” Vitamin D Council founder Dr. John Cannell said. “AAD’s new vitamin D position is a serious abrogation of trust between a doctor’s academy and the public.”

Dermatology should be embracing sunburn prevention, not total sun avoidance, Cannell says, explaining that moderating the AAD’s message would cost the $6 billion cosmetic sunscreen market hundreds of millions, if not billions, in sales.

A BBC news report Wednesday is the latest showing that sun avoidance and over-use of sunscreen are causing vitamin D deficiency in children who have grown up over-using the product which, according to the Vitamin D Council, is a likely factor for epidemic-level increases in childhood asthma, autism and autoimmune disorders.

The Vitamin D Council is a California-based independent non-profit organization founded by John Cannell, MD, and other concerned citizens who are dedicated to educating the public about the entirely preventable risks of vitamin D deficiency. Its web site, www.VitaminDcouncil.org, is a leading source of information on vitamin D on the web.