May 19, 2022 was an informative and inspirational day at the Rayburn House Office Building, a congressional office building for the US House of Representatives in Washington, DC. DSM hosted Safer Under The Sun Day, a skin cancer prevention and education awareness event to commemorate its 2022 sponsorship of Destination Healthy Skin, The Skin Cancer Foundation’s mobile skin cancer screening and education program. Destination Healthy Skin utilizes an RV to travel around the US from May to September, spending 1-2 days in each community it visits. Some of the notable cities included in this tour are New York, Chicago, Denver, Tampa, Los Angeles, Dallas and Atlanta, among others. Local volunteer dermatologists provide free, full-body skin cancer screenings as well as skin cancer prevention and early-detection literature. Since the program’s inception, Destination Healthy Skin has provided more than 25,000 free skin cancer screenings and identified more than 10,000 potential skin cancers and precancers, including 450 suspected melanomas.

The event opened with a brief award ceremony by DSM to recognize the leadership and ongoing commitment of the Congressional Skin Cancer Caucus. Congressman John Joyce (R-PA), who is also a dermatologist, was in attendance to accept his award and led off the event with a short speech on the importance of sun protection.

“Skin cancers largely are preventable. And that prevention has to start with individual understanding, but it also has to continue in the US Congress with our ability to work with industry and define what are safe, acceptable ingredients in sunscreens to protect themselves,” he said.

Safer Under The Sun Day, occurring during Skin Cancer Awareness Month, featured a panel discussion with representatives from DSM, skin cancer experts, a laborer health advocate and an executive from a sun protection product manufacturer. The panel discussion focused on several key topics related to sun protection.

Increasing Focus on Sun Protection

Becky Kamowitz, senior director of marketing communications, The Skin Cancer Foundation, and an integral contributor to the panel, outlined the foundation’s history and mission and shared some interesting facts and statistics on skin cancer. During the Q&A session, Kamowitz discussed the barriers the organization faces in educating the public on skin cancer.

“One of the biggest barriers is educating people who don’t know about sunscreens and assisting them in making the use of sunscreens a lifestyle habit,” explained Kamowitz. “There are also people who are concerned about the safety of ingredients. We have to explain to these consumers that these ingredients are safe and effective.”

Sun Protection As Required PPE

The Laborers' Health & Safety Fund of North America (LHSFNA) is an organization dedicated to improving jobsite health and safety. Emily Smith, health promotion manager, LHSFNA, participated in the panel. Smith highlighted its Sun Sense Campaign which raises awareness about the dangers of skin cancer, heat illness and other outdoor hazards. The Fund provides posters, health alerts and other educational materials to ensure people know how to prevent skin cancer and heat illness and recognize early signs and symptoms. Most importantly, the organization is advocating for sunscreens to be included as required personal protection equipment (PPE) for people working outdoors.

The Next Stage of Sun Protection

Stephen Wood, senior director of DSM Personal Care in North America, discussed the outlook of regulatory decisions on UV filters and the future of UV filters in the US. DSM is currently seeking US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of Bemotrizinol (BEMT) as a new sunscreen active for use in OTC sunscreen products in the US. The approval of Bemotrizinol would mark the first time a UV filter was generally recognized as safe and effective (GRASE) for over-the-counter (OTC) sunscreen product use since the approval of avobenzone in 1999.

“We like to say that DSM stands for ‘Do Something Meaningful’ and we’ve stepped up and carved a path for the first UV filter to be approved by the FDA in over 20 years—our Parsol Shield,” said Wood. “It’s really about building partnerships through industry associations, collaborating with our customers and governmental leaders all in the spirit of working together and thinking about the people who are going to be using the product and service first.” 

Proactive Skin Cancer Prevention

Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the US. Safer Under The Sun Day was instrumental in creating awareness on the importance of sun protection and early detection. Furthermore, it served as a useful platform to inform attendees on available information resources for sun protection and the prevention of skin cancer. After the event, DSM executives proposed to Congress that sunscreens should be required PPE for people working outdoors.  

“By sponsoring a life-saving initiative like Destination Healthy Skin and working together with The Skin Cancer Foundation, as well as the most respected sunscreen brands, it allows DSM to fulfill its mission to Do Something Meaningful by advocating for substantive change that benefits all of society” concluded Wood.