AUG. 18, 2009 — Real Simple magazine published a column this summer with what Smart Tan considers the most blatant misbranding of sunscreen’s intended usage ever to appear in print.

“Sunscreen. Sunscreen. Sunscreen. By now you know that you need to wear it 365 days a year, outdoors and indoors, rain or shine. That it helps prevent melanoma, a skin cancer that kills approximately 3,000 U.S. women annually,” Real Simple writer Jolene Edgar wrote in a June column called ‘The Sun Doctor’ which went on to pitch products being advertised in the magazine.

Real stupid.

“What’s ironic is that sunscreen manufacturers themselves actually are not allowed to advertise that their product prevents melanoma, because more studies actually show that people who wear sunscreen have a greater risk of melanoma than show that those who use sunscreen have a lower risk,” Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. “For a magazine to pitch daily 365/24 usage of sunscreen — which is misbranding sunscreen’s only stated purpose, sunburn prevention, and treat it as if the product is designed to be used that way is reckless at best and potentially harmful.”

More men die of melanoma than women — and the group experiencing the largest increases is older men. “That gets buried or is not even mentioned in articles promoting sunscreen-product sales in women’s magazines,” Levy said.

Smart Tan encourages sunscreen usage only on occasions when sunburn is a possibility. “For Real Simple to pitch 365/24 sunscreen usage in an article that promotes a product brand by name is pretty transparent,” Levy said. “It’s ‘Sun Scare’ at its worst.”

Smart Tan will be discussing sunscreen usage and new information on SPF products at Smart Tan Downtown — Smart Tan’s 14th Annual Convention and Trade Show in Downtown Nashville Oct. 9-11. For more information on the event click here.