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Lesson from Australia: slip, slop, slap!

Lesson from Australia: slip, slop, slap!

Australia is often referred to as the ultraviolet (UV) capital of the world.

 

Each year, Australia receives heavy doses of UV light from the sun. Broadly, this is down to three things:

 

  • The country’s proximity to the equator;
  • Its position in the Southern Hemisphere means that during the Australian summer, the Earth’s tilt brings the region slightly closer to the sun and the sunlight arrives at a steeper angle, making UV levels stronger; and
  • The fact it has a high proportion of clear, blue-sky days.

 

In combination, that’s a pretty lethal UV cocktail! And as we know, mainstream science recognises ultraviolet (UV) radiation as a proven cause of skin cancer - officially classified by the World Health Organisation as a human carcinogen.

 

Because Australia is synonymous with sunshine and outside living, we thought it made for an interesting case study not least because skin protection is culturally front of mind and has been for far longer than it has in Europe.

 

Melanoma in Australia

 

To give you a sense of things, melanoma frequency in Australia was measured at around 58 new cases per 100,000 people in 2018, according to WHO data.

By comparison, the same measure in the United States was roughly 22 cases per 100,000 people — making melanoma about two to three times more common in Australia.

 

So, melanoma is 2.6x more common in Australia than in the USA.

 

That’s what makes melanoma the 4th most common cancer in Australia, accounting for 7% of all cancers. In the USA, melanoma is the 7th most common cancer, accounting for 3% of all cancers.

 

You can quickly see how skin cancer became, and still is, a major public health concern for the Australian government.

 

Slip, slop, slap

 

In 1981, the government's 'SunSmart' campaign hit Australian TV screens. An animated, board-shorts-wearing seagull called Sid, extolled the virtues of “Slip! Slop! Slap!”. Sid would dance around asking Australians to protect themselves from the sun while they’re out and about.

 

The guidance was clear: slip on a shirt, slop on some sunscreen and slap on a hat.

 

Sid has been in Australian psyche ever since. His messaging has evolved slightly to now include ‘seek and slide’ which encourages Australians to seek shade during the hottest times of the day and to ‘slide’ on a pair of sunglasses.

 

Campaign impact

 

Nearly forty years on and the results of the government’s SunSmart campaign are in and they’re impressive…

 

Over the past 30 years, 13,285 people from Melbourne have been surveyed about their sun protection habits. The surveys were taken at the start of the project (1987) and then every 10 years thereafter (1997, 2007 and 2017).

 

Participants ranged in age from 14 to 69 years old. Each participant would be quizzed about their tanning attitudes, skin protection behaviour and sunburn incidence on the weekend immediately prior to the call.

 

In October 2019, Cancer Council Victoria analysed the data from these surveys and published the results of their research.

 

What the authors revealed was that "the odds of use of at least one sun protection behaviours on summer weekends was three times higher in the 1990s than pre-SunSmart."

 

"These improvements were sustained into the 2000s and continued to increase in the 2010s."

 

"The findings are consistent with the possibility that changes over the decades in sun protection behaviour have contributed to the decline in melanoma rates, and have substantial implications for the future delivery of skin cancer prevention programs."

 

How do men fare?

 

 

 

So, has the Australia campaign worked on Australian men?

 

According to the same World Health Organisation data, Australian men remain around 50% more likely than women to develop melanoma, and roughly twice as likely to die from it.

 

In fact, we see this kind of male vs. female disparity in North America and much of Europe too.

 

So, while sun protection behaviour appears to have improved in Australia across the board, cancer data suggests there's room for improvement.

 

It’s our view that brands, campaigns, press and sun awareness messaging simply doesn't talk to men. And the statistics speak for themselves. Even in Australia where behavioural change around sun protection has been relatively successful.

 

Power of people

 

Changing behaviour and getting skin protection ingrained into people's daily habits is seriously hard.

 

And it takes years.

 

And the muscle of a national government.

 

And, even then, men don't seem to respond.

 

We're a tiny start-up and we'll do what we can, for as long as we can, even if it's a bit like showing up to a gun fight with a peashooter.

 

We think the greatest chance of mission success is going to be through the power of teamwork. Men listen to what other men think, do and buy. I definitely know I do.

 

The network effect of people like you endorsing skin protection to your friends and family (whether they use LifeJacket or another brand) has the power to be more effective than any government campaign. We're pretty sure those closest to you will listen to why you've made the healthy choice to protect your skin daily.

 

So, what do you say? Are you up for helping those around you and spreading the word?

 

We really hope so.