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Originally Posted by flstf
I wonder if the increase in skin cancer (if the studies are true) might be because people who use sunscreen are spending a lot more time in the sun than they would otherwise.
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I just find it a bit odd is all. I mean, skin cancer, while perhaps not as easily "diagnosed" a long time ago, would have been easily NOTICED at least. And it seems to have just not been a big deal in the past until a few decades ago. And people generally spent MUCH more time outside. People walked everywhere or rode horses, no air conditioned cars. More people worked outside in agriculture-related fields.
At any rate, it's more or less a logical step to assume sunscreen is probably not good for you. I mean, over 30-40 years, almost all chemical-based, man-made things that you ingest or cover yourself with turn out to be bad. I don't see why sunscreen is so magical. Let's take a short look back:
Tobacco - It was great until we discovered lung cancer.
Asbestos - Made the most awesome artificial snow in Hollywood sets and was a great insulator and was put in almost all buildings for a while... until we disovered Mesothelioma
Hydrogenated Vegatable Oils - Made pre-cooked items last longer, made manufacturing cheaper, made items cook better in the microwave... it was GREAT... until we discovered Trans-Fatty acids (and if the anti-TransFat issue is too new for you to believe in, well... sorry)
Lead - Made for great heavy glass, helped bind (I believe) paints, was used in all sorts of applications. Cancer much?
Mercury - See above? Mmmm, tasty deadly broken thermometers. Yum!
Thalidomide - I sure hope their kids flippers were worth the little relief from morning sickness. Oh that's right, they didn't know. In fact, at the time it met US FDA approval, just like most of the things mentioned above.
I mean, do I really need to go on? In the last century, the one lesson we SHOULD have learned that we seem not to have as a race is that chemicals are NOT our friends. Sure, there are certain good uses for some of them sometimes, but generally speaking, if you can avoid them you should, whether they be medication (I've seen plenty of ppl on this board agree that they try to take as little medication as possible) or cleaning chemicals or chemical-laden foods (pesticides). Hell, many DOCTORS now are recommending organic products. And unlike pharmecuetical companies, most doctors are not in bed with organic farms and growers. But the data proves that there is a reasonable benefit, and an extra 3-5% cost is worth the healthful benefits. At any rate, why is sunscreen so much different?