Tanning and sunburn: knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of people in Great Britain

A representative sample of the British population was interviewed to identify the factors associated with sunburn and intention to tan, and the source from which people obtained their information about the risks of sun exposure.

As part of its rolling Omnibus survey, the Office for National Statistics interviewed a randomly selected representative sample of 1858 adults (aged 16 or over) in Great Britain in October 1996. The analysis and interpretation of the resulting data form the basis of this study.

The response rate was just below 70 per cent. Forty-three per cent of men and 35 per cent of women reported sunburning in the 12 months to October 1996. Factors associated with sunburn were: being male, having a skin that tans with difficulty and being younger. Concerning 'intention to tan', 34 per cent of men and 39 per cent of women admitted trying. There were associations with having a skin that tans easily, and, less strongly, with being younger. There was a clear association between trying to tan and severity of sunburn. Most people identified television as their main source of information about the dangers of sun exposure, and the majority had seen the sunburn forecasts on weather reports. Comparison with a previous Omnibus sunburn survey from 1993 shows little change in the proportion of the population becoming sunburnt, but some increase in the proportion of men intending to tan.

The data allow an insight into current sun-related behaviour and whether there has been a change since 1993. Health promotion campaigns warning about the risk from the sun may have increased awareness, but have thus far failed to reduce the proportion becoming sunburnt. It is time to re-evaluate the thinking behind such programmes.