Totally Baked

by WiredBerries Editors — March 20, 2008

Heading to the beach for a week or two this month? Finally taking that ski vacation? Don't forget to pack the sunscreen! The Sun Safety Alliance offers the bare facts about getting too much sun:

• You can sunburn even on a cloudy day.
• On average, children get 3 times more exposure than adults.
• The vast majority, perhaps as much as 80% of a person's lifetime sun exposure is estimated to occur by age 18.
• Concrete, sand, water, and snow reflect 85% to 90% of the sun's UV rays.
• Depletion of Earth's ozone continues to increase your exposure to UV rays.
• In some parts of the world, melanoma is increasing at rates faster than any other cancer.
• More than 1.2 million new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed each year in the US.
• Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, kills one person every hour.
• One blistering sunburn can double a child's lifetime risk of developing skin cancer.