TUCSON, AZ (KOLD) The Food and Drug Administration is overhauling the packaging for sunscreens so it will be easier for consumers to understand what they're really buying.
Broad spectrum will mean the sunscreen protects against the sun's UVA and UVB rays.
Only broad spectrum sunscreens with a sun protection factor, or SPF, of 15 or higher can claim to reduce skin cancer and skin aging.
Sunscreens will no longer be able to say they are waterproof or sweat-proof.
It's an important change to Southern Arizonans.
When you live in a desert, you expect to have to protect yourself from the sun.
We're pretty good about it here.
People new to the area get better at it, especially when they find out that Arizona has the second highest rate of skin cancer in the world, just behind Australia.
Nearly constant sunshine is one reason people love Tucson, but it's also one reason our skin cancer rate is so high.
Sun damage is cumulative, so it's important to start protecting skin early.
We caught up with some University of Arizona students enjoying the sunshine.
Page Barnett told us, "I think it's important for everyone to start wearing sunscreen especially at a younger age too."
Sam Rubin said he wears sunscreen for one reason.
"Mainly skin cancer. If that didn't exist, then I would never wear sunscreen."
Danelle Hee explained, "My grandpa had skin cancer just because sunscreen wasn't invented then, so I always wear sunscreen."
New federal sunscreen rules should make it easier to understand labels, but there are some things that don't change.
The experts say you want broad spectrum protection from both UVA and UVB radiation from the sun.
Just ask the folks at the Arizona Cancer Center Skin Cancer Institute.
"Here in the desert I always recommend SPF 30 or higher, just because an SPF of 15 is about 92% protective. An SPF of 30, it jumps to about 97, 98 % protection. I think that's a big jump. Past that, you're not getting much UVB protection out of a product," says Lisa Quale of the institute.
Quale says look for products that contain at least one of the three ingredients: Zinc oxide, titanium dioxide or avobenzone.
UVA radiation causes premature aging. UVB causes sunburn.
Quale say both can contribute to skin cancer, and together they are worse.
She says, of course, sunscreen is just one way to protect ourselves.
It's best to cover up.
Long sleeves, long pants, wide-brimmed hat and sunglasses.
Arizona Cancer Center researchers are working ways to prevent skin cancer.
They're looking at a half-dozen chemicals.
Some already are being used to treat cancer.
The idea is that we would someday have a skin cream that actually would reverse skin cell damage by changing the instructions the damaged cells are getting.
Arizona Cancer Center researcher, Dr. Steven Stratton, says, "So, if some of these have gone a little wacky, and we can stop that message in it's tracks, those cells will eventually turn over and disappear and what you would be left with is cells with the proper messaging that would look more normal."
Do that, and you can stop the cells from becoming cancer.
Dr. Stratton says we could see the first tests on people in about a year.
The new FDA-approved sunscreen labels are expected to be ready to go by next summer.
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