Reports published last week have revealed Skin Cancer is increasing amongst young people, with two-thirds shunning sunscreen in a bid to ‘get a better tan.’ Teenage sun-seekers admitted to regularly getting burnt, whilst one in ten 13 to 24 year olds said they’d never worn sunscreen in a poll conducted by the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Despite being the most common form of cancer for this age category, with a 30% rise in cases in the past decade, these reports suggest the message is failing to get through to youngsters, with many teenagers continually putting their health at risk.

Iona Stoddart, education and awareness programme manager for Teenage Cancer Trust, explained: “Raising awareness of skin cancer is so important, because it is on the rise across the UK. We aren’t asking people to avoid the sun entirely, but to take precautions and avoid getting burnt. Repeated damage to the skin can cause problems long term and increase someone’s risk of Melanoma, the most serious form of Skin Cancer.”

Mrs Smith, a Skin Cancer survivor added, “I think people do not expect to get sunburnt. However, primary school children are more likely to wear sun cream, as they are at the behest of their parents, whereas teenagers are more likely to ignore it.”

Irrespective of whether you tan easily or not, you should always take precautions to protect your skin from the sun, and our latest patio awning installation featured on the new Hawley Primary School in Camden will do just that. Our installation team are currently fitting a large ten metre awning to the school which will provide a fantastic outdoor area where children can work and play beneath, safely protected from the sun whilst offering shelter from any unexpected showers.

With all of our awnings featuring UV rated 801 fabrics, they enable you to safely enjoy full use of your patio/terrace with complete peace of mind that you’re safeguarded from any harmful UV rays. In fact, our fabrics offer a staggering sun protection factor of up to 80+, which is more than four times what is recommended by the Cancer Research UK SunSmart, allowing even those with the fairest of skin to enjoy a minimum of six hours protection.

To find out more about our innovative patio awnings, request a copy of our full product brochure here, or use our unique awning fabric selector, which shows the UV protection level for each fabric, to choose the fabric most suitable for your skin type.