At the kick start of an information campaign, Skin Cancer Portuguese Association (APCC) President Osvaldo Correia said falsehoods such as the claim that sunscreen impedes the absorption of vitamin D, must be combated. Adding, if there is a deficiency of vitamin D among the population, it is not going to be fixed by overexposing skin to direct sunlight, especially during lunchtime, suggesting that ‘nowadays supplementation can be made just like in babies and people do not need to take risks’.

Correia also warned against correlating temperature with radiation, explaining that a colder day does not necessarily mean lower ultraviolet (UV) exposure, while reminding that people are not at risk ‘only when they go to the beach’.

In a campaign coordinated by the APCC, in partnership with the Portuguese Society for Dermatology and Venereology (SPDV) and supported by the Health General Directorate will see a van of dermatologists and other professionals touring beaches nationwide.

APCC estimates the emergence of thirteen thousand new cases of skin cancer, with over a thousand being melanomas – the most dangerous type of skin cancer.