For decades, Australians have been taught to "wear hats, coats and sunscreen" in the sun.
But new data released by the Cancer Control Council (Cancer Council) show that 9/10 of Australians still don't know when or how to properly apply sunscreen.
These figures may partly explain why the number of melanoma cases in Australia is astronomically high, the highest in the world.
According to the study, 40% of Australians still don't know what weather factors cause sunburn.
Of the 3600 people surveyed, 24 percent believed the risk of sunburn was related to temperature, and more than 1/5 thought sunscreen was not needed on rainy or cloudy days. It also shows that more than 90 percent of people understand that sun protection is needed when UV levels are 3 or more.
The study coincided with (Sunscreen Summit), 's sunscreen summit in Brisbane on Monday to discuss ways to improve the use of sunscreen by Australians with sunscreen experts.
Professor David Whitman (David Whiteman), head of the cancer control team at the QIMR Berghofer Medical Institute, said at the summit that educating Australians about sunscreen realities was a continuing challenge.
"there's a lot of evidence that sunscreen can prevent skin cancer if used properly-but many Australians don't even know when to wear sunscreen, and a lot of people ignore it altogether." He said。
"We also know from previous studies that 85 percent of Australians didn't use it correctly."
Australia has long had the highest incidence of melanoma in the world, with nearly 15000 people diagnosed with skin cancer every year.
It also kills more young people than any other type of cancer, with about 1/20 Australians diagnosed with melanoma before age 70.
Melanoma: national Cancer in Australia
- Australia and New Zealand are the countries with the highest diagnostic rates of melanoma in the world
- This is the third most prevalent cancer in Australia, both male and female.
- Although it accounts for only 2% of skin cancer, it accounts for 75% of skin cancer deaths
- Melanoma is the most common cancer among young Australians, accounting for 20% of all cancer cases
- If early detection and treatment, melanoma survival rate is as high as 90%