Over the past few years, Bermudians have been soaking up sun protection sense along with the rays on the beach.

Dorothy Morgan-Swan, Director of Public Relations and Education at the TB, Cancer and Health Association, is optim istic that Bermudians have been absorbing the message that the risk for skin cancer is greatly heightened by unprotected exposure to the sun.

After years of witnessing the ravages of cancer as the head of the Oncology Department at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, Mrs. Morgan-Swan shifted to education about sun protection in 1997. She now coordinates sun protection awareness campaigns primarily targeted toward schoolchildren, but also the corporate sector.

She spends much of the year visiting schools, summer camps and corporate workshops, providing information in the form of lectures, pamphlets, and sun-protection samples.

She said: "We can see the public is in need of information. There wasn't an education person here before 1997. The mandate of TB, Cancer and Health is early protection and detection of cancer, and educating people about protecting their skin from the sun is an important aspect of that.'' "I feel from my experience in going out and doing presentations that there seems to be more awareness and people are eager for information. People want to take an active role in their health.'' "People seem to be filtering the information that they're getting. It's just about reinforcing it and reinforcing it.'' It is particularly important to get the message out to young people and their parents, as sunburns suffered in childhood vastly increase the risk of skin cancer in later life.

Mrs. Morgan-Swan said: "The more sunburns you get when you're young, the higher your risk of skin cancer. Children's skin is thinner, that's why they're more prone to sun damage.'' One highly visible example that Bermudians are beginning to pay more attention to sun protection are the hatted Bermuda High School (BHS) students seen around Hamilton. The school recently initiated a policy that requires their primary school students to wear hats to protect them from the sun.

Mrs. Morgan-Swan said: "They are the first school to take it on themselves as a policy, although others are now talking of adopting the same policy.'' Although the hats initially drew some opposition, Mrs. Morgan-Swan said that: "Parents now are realising that it's a safety thing -- not just another school rule.'' Schools have been participating more in the process of raising awareness about the damaging effects of the sun in other ways, as well.

Mrs. Morgan-Swan said: "The first Monday in May is Melanoma Day, and it was adopted in Bermuda in 1997 as Bermuda Hat Day. Nearly all schools have gotten involved, getting the students to wear hats to school on that day.'' Mrs. Morgan-Swan believes that the 1997 `Slip Slap Slop' campaign to raise sun protection awareness has also had an impact on the Island.

She said: "Camp leaders will call us now and ask us for a presentation.'' "It's not just about protecting against skin cancer, it's about preserving healthy, youthful skin. The sun causes wrinkles and premature aging.'' Many people still object to using sunscreen, however.

"A lot of people say they don't like to use sunscreen because its expensive, but in the long run it's well worth it. It's sort of like saying buying groceries is expensive. What are you going to do -- you're not going to stop eating. If you want to protect your skin you have to, no matter what the cost.'' Mrs. Morgan-Swan noted that another frequent objection to sunscreen was that it was greasy and caused skin irritation. This aversion to sunscreen is unfortunate considering the technological improvements in sunscreen in recent years.

She said: "Definitely in the past five years, they've improved greatly. There are so many products out there now for sensitive skin. PABA, which helped protect against UV rays, has been eliminated from most sunscreens as a lot of people had allergic reactions to it.'' Mrs. Morgan-Swan pointed out that while a sunscreen's Sun Protection Factor (SPF) is still vitally important, there are new things to look for in a sunscreen. Titanium dioxide, avobenzone, or zinc oxide are strongly recommended new ingredients designed to block UV rays.

She warned that these ingredients are new, however, and many sunscreen companies still have supplies of older sunscreen that they continue to sell.

Another problem is that people will often neglect to wear sunscreen on overcast days. However, UVA and UVB rays both penetrate clouds.

Mrs. Morgan-Swan said: "On hazy, cloudy days, don't be fooled -- that's when people get sunburns the most.'' Mrs. Morgan-Swan said that sunscreen should be applied generously half an hour before going into the sun, and it should be reapplied often. She recommends 30 SPF for children and 15 SPF for adults, unless you are very fair.