National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)
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NICE publishes new guidelines to help weigh-up the risks and benefits of sunlight exposure

NICE – the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence – has published guidance which will help us all to enjoy the sunshine safely.

Communicating the risks and benefits of sunlight exposure is a challenge. Exposure to the sun can boost vitamin D levels, but too much time spent in the sun increases the risk of skin cancer. A balance needs to be struck.

Professor Gillian Leng, deputy chief executive and director of health and social care at NICE, said: “How much time we should spend in the sun depends on a number of factors including geographical location, time of day and year, weather conditions and natural skin colour.”

“People with lighter skin, people who work outside and those of us who enjoy holidays in sunny countries all have a higher risk of experiencing skin damage and developing skin cancer. On the other hand, people who cover up for cultural reasons, are housebound or otherwise confined indoors for long periods of time are all at higher risk of low vitamin D levels”.

NICE has made 18 recommendations in this guidance. These include;

  • professionals offering one-to-one advice tailored to the individual’s level of risk,
  • creating effective national and local media campaigns to emphasise how the risks and benefits of sunlight will vary depending on the individual,
  • combining sun care messages with existing national and local health promotion programmes.

Together these recommendations will support healthcare professionals in identifying those most at risk from sun damage. They will also aid in the development of consistent information, which will better educate and protect the public from over or under exposure to sunlight.

Professor Leng added: “We need to better identify groups at risk of over or under exposure to sunlight and give them better understanding of why they may need to modify their behaviour and how.

“Our new recommendations will help tailor public health activities focused on those groups most at risk from over or under exposure to sunlight. They will ensure that all activities and campaigns take a balanced, consistent and effective approach, and ultimately make the sun more friend than foe.”

For more information call the NICE press office on 0300 323 0142 or out of hours on 07775 583 813.

Notes to editors

  1. The full guidance will be available on the NICE website from 09 February 2016. 
  2. Sunlight comprises infrared, visible and ultraviolet (UV) rays. The new NICE guidance focuses on the balance of risks and benefits from the UV rays, specifically the UVA and UVB rays that reach the earth’s surface. Exposure to artificial UV light (such as from sunbeds) is beyond the remit of this guideline.
  3. This guideline updates part of the skin cancer prevention public health guideline published in 2011 and also links to our suspected cancer guideline published in 2015.
  4. The committee acknowledged that there is a need to provide clear advice on how to safely get vitamin D from sunlight. This guideline complements theexisting NICE guideline on vitamin D which recommends that people who are at risk of low vitamin D should be given better access to supplements to protect their health. The introduction to this guideline notes that it should be read alongside any final recommendations from SACN.

About NICE

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) is the independent body responsible for driving improvement and excellence in the health and social care system. We develop guidance, standards and information on high-quality health and social care. We also advise on ways to promote healthy living and prevent ill health.

Our aim is to help practitioners deliver the best possible care and give people the most effective treatments, which are based on the most up-to-date evidence and provide value for money, in order to reduce inequalities and variation.

Our products and resources are produced for the NHS, local authorities, care providers, charities, and anyone who has a responsibility for commissioning or providing healthcare, public health or social care services.

To find out more about what we do, visit our website:www.nice.org.uk and follow us on Twitter: @NICEComms.

 

Channel website: https://www.nice.org.uk/

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