Sunscreen And Sunbeds Targeted

Possible harm done by both sunbeds and sunscreens are in focus this week.

In the same week that a Dáil Minister indicated she would ban sunbeds altogether if regulations permit, academics north of the border are investigating the possibility that the use of sunscreen - to protect from cancer - may induce Alzheimer's.

The University of Ulster yesterday said two of it experts have been given substantial funding by the European Union to explore possible links between the sunscreen and the often fatal degenerative brain disease.

Professor Vyvyan Howard, a pathologist and toxicologist, and Dr Christian Holster, an expert in Alzheimer's, have been awarded £350,000 from the EU to carry out a three-year research project.

They are leading research into whether human engineered nanoparticles, such as those found in sunscreen, can induce neurodegenerative disease such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

The University of Ulster experts will be specifically looking at nanoparticles present in chemicals found in sunscreens and an additive in some diesel fuels - titanium dioxide and cerium oxide - and their connection to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Their groundbreaking research at the Biomedical Sciences Institute in Coleraine is part of a worldwide project called NeuroNano.

Meanwhile, as sunscreen's use to cut down on possible cancer-causing effects of sunlight on the skin is being tackled, the Irish Republic's Health Minister Mary Harney said she would like to see a total ban on the use of 'artificial sunlight', for tanning.

She wants to ban sunbeds in Ireland outright to reduce the risk of cancer.

Speaking at a global cancer summit in Dublin on Monday, the minister said she has asked her department to see if such a ban is possible, as EU approval would be required.

Ms Harney also said that although there will be a significant reduction in health spending next year cancer will be a priority.

(BMcC/GK)