The Netherlands is giving out free sunscreen to its citizens to try to prevent skin cancer. In Norway, the National Radiation Agency estimates that the total cost to society each year for skin cancer is NOK 6.5 billion. Skin cancer treatment alone costs the state NOK 450 million each year. Storting representative Mímir Kristjánsson (R) believes that introducing the Dutch measure could be a good investment. – I think what they have done in the Netherlands is a good idea. We should try it out in Norway too, and see if we could offer people sunscreen in the summer heat. Mímir Kristjánsson in Raudt thinks the Dutch initiative is good. Photo: news He thinks it is a good preventive measure, and that the dispensers would quickly pay for themselves when we know how much it costs to treat skin cancer. He himself is bad at oiling himself, and thinks he would have become better if it were easily available. – When we got hand sanitizer dispensers everywhere, people started using it. And it may sound strange with free sunscreen, but there is free toilet paper in public toilets. No one reacts to it. Using pandemic dispensers The measure comes after a sharp increase in skin cancer in recent years. According to the BBC, cases of skin cancer have doubled in the country over the past 10 years. On a beach in the Netherlands, a boy gets to see the new dispensers. Photo: Nederlandse Omroep Stichting/EBU The Netherlands will therefore deploy free sunscreen at schools, in parks, at sporting events and at festivals during the summer season. According to the Dutch NOS, the sunscreen is placed in alcohol dispensers left over from the pandemic. Schoolchildren can apply sunscreen free of charge before going out for recess. Photo: Nederlandse Omroep Stichting/EBU – Our dermatologist, Karen van Popplen, came up with the idea of converting dispensers left over from the corona pandemic into sunscreen dispensers, says a spokesperson for the hospital VieCuri. The project is a collaboration between the VieCuri hospital and a state insurance company. Sunscreen can be expensive, and the measure has been taken so that everyone has equal access to protection from the sun. Most people get sunburnt in Norway Norway is right at the top of the world when it comes to skin cancer. – Most cases of melanoma are related to too much sun. Therefore, it may seem like a paradox that many here in sun-poor Norway get this form of cancer. We are outside a lot, and many sunbathe when the sun peeks out, says Ingrid Stenstadvold Ross at the Cancer Society. Secretary General of the Cancer Society Ingrid Stenstadvold Ross. When asked whether a Dutch scheme could be relevant in Norway, Stenstadvold Ross replies that the main problem is still that many people use sunscreen incorrectly. – It is possible that it would make some more people use sunscreen, but in that case we should discuss who will pay the bill for this, says Ingrid Stenstadvold Ross of the Cancer Association. In Norway, it is most common to get sunburned when doing other things outside, rather than when sunbathing. This is shown by an investigation into sun damage carried out by the Norwegian Cancer Society and the Directorate for Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety last year. The survey also shows that it is more common to get sunburned when you are in Norway than when you are in sunny countries. No plans to introduce a similar scheme in Norway Stenstadvold Ross says that sun in moderate amounts is healthy, but too much sun at once can make us sunburnt. It increases the risk of mole cancer and other types of skin cancer. Still, Stenstadvold Ross does not think the price is the reason why Norwegians do not use sunscreen: – In our Solvane survey, we ask if price is a reason for not using sunscreen. Very few give that as a reason. – The best way to protect yourself is to limit the time spent in the strongest rays. Clothing also protects. These ways to protect yourself from the sun are also free. State Secretary Ole Henrik Bjørkholt in the Ministry of Health and Care says that the government has no plans to introduce a similar scheme in Norway: – Sunscreen is an easily available product, and we have no plans to introduce free sunscreen in Norway.
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