Ask any elderly person you know. Beaches around the country were jammed on summer weekends in the 1930s. Sunscreen promoters offer no clue. Beach Bummer New evidence suggests that sunscreens don't prevent skin cancer and may even promote some forms of it. The manufacturers know it.
Some researchers know it.
Even worse, the Garlands' research suggests that sunscreen use just might promote melanoma. Unfortunately for the public health, the Garlands refuse to discuss their theory for fear of professional ostracism. After they presented their case against sunscreens at a 1990 epidemiological meeting in Los Angeles, both the New York Times and the Washington Post ran articles explaining their theory. Epidemiologists accused the Garlands of grandstanding for speaking to the press before publishing their analysis in a scientific journal. But anyone who examines the Garlands' claims might feel, well, burned by sunscreens.