By Darren Ennis
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's health andconsumer chiefs urged holidaymakers on Monday to take extrameasures to protect themselves from the sun this summer in abid to curb rising levels of skin cancer, notably amongchildren.
Ultraviolet rays from the sun are the leading cause of skincancer with one in every three cancers diagnosed as the skinvariety, the Skin Cancer Foundation says.
"Our message to consumers this summer is very clear: besun-smart this summer and seek protection," EU HealthCommissioner Androulla Vassiliou said in a statement.
She advised parents not to expose babies and children todirect sunlight as the risk of skin cancer is increased by UVradiation. There are two types of UV rays -- UVA, which isresponsible for tanning, and UVB, which leads to burning.
According to Cancer Research UK, the number of skin cancercases in that country has more than doubled since the early1980s with over 2,000 deaths from skin cancer each year.
The rise in the number of cases of skin cancer caused byexposure to the sun prompted Brussels last year to introducestricter labelling rules for sun cream, banning the words"sunblock" and "100 percent sun protection".
"Most importantly, holidaymakers should be fully aware thatsunscreen is only one of a number of measures that arenecessary for effective protection against the sun," EUConsumer Commissioner Meglena Kuneva said.
"There is no such thing as 100 percent protection from thesun or a safe tan."
(Editing by Mariam Karouny)
