What do young people think about the dangers of sunbathing, skin cancer and sunbeds? A questionnaire survey among Italians

Previous experience in Australia and Sweden showed that public education pr ograms produced substantial changes in people's opinions, attitudes and per ceptions about melanoma, non-melanoma skin cancer, sunlight, sunbeds and su ntanning. In order to organize effective prevention campaigns, more must be known about the sunbathing habits of children and adolescents. The aim of our study was to assess the knowledge that young people in a southern Europ ean country have about sun exposure, A total of 764 young people ranging fr om 16 to 22 years old (mean age: 19.3+/-1.2 years) responded to a questionn aire. Our study indicates that young people are very aware of the risks ass ociated with sunbathing but that they continue to expose themselves without taking precautions. This suggests that: a) the majority of young Italians are reasonably well-informed but they do not take preventative measures; b) one effective measure could be promotion of the idea that an untanned body is more esthetically pleasing than a tanned one; c) a crucial point in the programming of future safety measures in suntan centers involves rigorous and regular controls.