Don’t Believe Anyone Who Says This
Common misunderstandings
Today I’m presenting a grab bag of six wild ideas that often pop up in online or personal discourse. Let’s consider them, clear out the cobwebs, and scrub the brain cells till they sparkle.
1. “Sunscreen causes cancer”
Dangerous misinformation alert! Sunscreen can save your life, not end it. Ultraviolet radiation from the sun is the cause of most skin cancers. Yet there are dozens of YouTube and TikTok videos telling people not to use sunscreen.
The very worst takes on this subject go beyond sunscreen to say things like, “The sun gives us life, it can’t hurt us.” “If you eat a nutritious, wholesome diet you won’t get skin cancer.” “Skin cancer is a modern problem. It didn’t exist in the past.” These statements are all easily disproven. (Example: we have records of skin cancer from 2,500 B.C.)
The sunscreen scare was amplified in 2021 when some products were found to be contaminated with a toxic chemical and recalled. It’s also true that some sunscreen chemicals get into the user’s bloodstream, though they have not been found to cause health issues.
If those chemicals make you uneasy, use titanium oxide and zinc oxide sunscreens. These are better studied, generally recognized as safe, and are as…
