American Academy of Dermatology 2010 'Suntelligence: How Sun Smart is Your City?' Fact Sheet

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May 03, 2010, 01:00 ET

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., May 3 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --The American Academy of Dermatology's (Academy) "Suntelligence: How Sun Smart is Your City?" survey polled adults in 26 U.S. cities and ranked them based on residents' answers to a range of questions testing their knowledge, attitudes and behaviors toward preventing and detecting skin cancer.

The rankings of the 26 U.S. metropolitan cities are as follows:

No. 1 - Hartford

No. 2 - Salt Lake City

No. 3 - Denver

No. 4 - Tampa

No. 5 - Boston

No. 6 - Phoenix

No. 7 - Atlanta

No. 8 - Philadelphia

No. 9 - Portland

No. 10 - Baltimore

No. 11 - Dallas

No. 12 - Houston

No. 13 - Miami

No. 14 - San Francisco

No. 15 - Washington, DC

No. 16 - Detroit

No. 17 - San Diego

No. 18 - Cincinnati

No. 19 - New York City

No. 20 - Minneapolis

No. 21 - St. Louis

No. 22 - Los Angeles

No. 23 - Seattle

No. 24 - Cleveland

No. 25 - Chicago

No. 26 - Pittsburgh

Attitudes

Seven in 10 respondents (72%) agreed with the statement that people look more attractive with a tan.

Eight in 10 (81%) Pittsburgh residents (the least sun-smart city ranked No. 26) agree that people look more attractive with a tan.
Only 65% of Denver residents (the No. 3 ranked city) agree that people look more attractive with a tan.

Two-thirds of respondents (66%) agreed with the statement that people look healthier with a tan.

73% of Pittsburgh residents believe people look healthier with a tan.
Only 58% of Denver residents believe people look healthier with a tan, followed by Atlanta residents (59%).

The majority (60%) of respondents incorrectly believe that sun exposure is good for your health.

66% of Minneapolis residents incorrectly believe that sun exposure is good for your heath.
Only 53% of Salt Lake City residents (the No. 2 ranked city) incorrectly believe that sun exposure is good for your health, followed closely by Philadelphia (54%) and Tampa (54%).

Three-fourths (75%) of respondents agree that they will do anything possible to prevent skin cancer.

Eight in 10 (82%) New York City residents agree that they will do anything possible to prevent skin cancer.
Only 68% of Seattle and Minneapolis residents agree that they will do anything possible to prevent skin cancer.

80% of respondents are concerned about skin cancer and feel it's important to protect themselves.

86% of Salt Lake City residents are concerned about skin cancer and feel it's important to protect themselves.

Behaviors

More than one-fourth of respondents (28%) indicated never examining their skin for changes to moles and other skin blemishes.

More than one-third (35%) of San Francisco residents never examine their skin for changes to moles and other skin blemishes.

59% of respondents indicated they have never been screened for skin cancer by a health-care provider.

69% of Pittsburgh residents and 67% of Chicago residents have never been screened for skin cancer by a health-care provider.

A vast majority of adults (70%) do not apply sunscreen on an average day.

79% of Pittsburgh residents do not apply sunscreen on an average day, followed closely by 78% of Baltimore residents.

Nearly one-fourth (24%) of respondents do not typically re-apply sunscreen when outside for a long time.

35% of Minneapolis residents do not typically re-apply sunscreen when outside for a long time.
16% of Tampa residents indicated that they do not typically re-apply sunscreen when outside for a long time.

Knowledge

Nearly two-thirds (63%) of adults know that it is not smarter to tan indoors using a tanning bed.

Three-fourths (75%) of Boston residents know that it is not smarter to tan indoors using a tanning bed.
Only 57% of Seattle and San Diego residents know that it is not smarter to tan indoors using a tanning bed.

More than half (60%) of adults know that sun exposure during childhood is related to skin cancer in adulthood.

67% of Salt Lake City residents know that sun exposure during childhood is related to skin cancer in adulthood.
Only 50% of Los Angeles residents know that sun exposure during childhood is related to skin cancer in adulthood.

Less than half (48%) of adults know that getting a base tan is not a healthy way to protect skin from sun damage.

More than half (57%) of Hartford residents (the No. 1 ranked city) know that getting a base tan is not a healthy way to protect skin from sun damage.
Only 4 in 10 (41%) Atlanta residents know that getting a base tan is not a healthy way to protect skin from sun damage.

Only one-third (35%) of adults know that there are not any UV rays that are safe for your skin.

42% of Hartford and Phoenix residents know that some types of UV rays are not safe for your skin.
Only 28% of Dallas residents know that some types of UV rays are not safe for your skin.

Two in 10 (21%) respondents know that a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 does not provide twice the protection as an SPF 15.

31% of Minneapolis residents know that a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 does not provide twice the protection as an SPF 15.
Only 18% of Cleveland and St. Louis residents know that a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 does not provide twice the protection as an SPF 15.

For additional information on the Academy's "Suntelligence" survey, visit the Academy's Web site at www.aad.org. The public also can take the "Suntelligence" survey at www.melanomamonday.org to test their UV knowledge, attitudes and behaviors.

The "Suntelligence" survey was conducted for the Academy by RH Research of Chicago from January 12 to January 31, 2010. A total of 7,116 respondents completed the online survey; more than 200 completes were conducted in each of the 26 selected MSAs (metropolitan statistical area) and an additional 1,123 completes were conducted in the U.S. outside of the MSAs. The survey's margin of error was +/-1.2 percent for national data and +/-6.9 percent for results stratified by MSA.

SOURCE American Academy of Dermatology