Skin care product cancer

As sun season fast approaches, the National Association of Chain Drug Stores is ramping up its efforts to build a coalition of manufacturers, retailers and health care organizations dedicated to wiping out skin cancer--the No. 1 form of cancer in America.

To that end, NACDS has taken a leadership role in the effort by forming a separate nonprofit organization called the Sun Safety Alliance. A core group of five to six founding partners that are leaders in categories such as beverage, film, snacks and entertainment, will get the program off and running, said Phil Schneider, executive director of the Sun Safety Alliance and vice president of external affairs at NACDS.

Schering-Plough, a leader in sun care with brands such as Coppertone and Bain De Soleil, has already gotten behind the alliance by donating financial and manpower resources. The alliance will be looking to add other suppliers at this month's Marketplace show in San Diego.

Additional manufacturers and retailers will add steam to the program, using product packaging and in-store materials to educate customers about the risks of prolonged sun exposure.

"It's an opportunity and a challenge to bring together all of those groups that have a role in educating consumers about skin cancer under the Sun Safety Alliance umbrella," said Schneider.

NACDS president and chief executive officer Craig Fuller formally announced the program at April's Annual Meeting in Palm Beach. "The alliance's primary objective is educating the public and motivating consumers to take action to protect themselves and their children from the dangers of skin cancer from sun exposure, by recognizing the consequences of their inaction," Fuller told NACDS members during his state of the association address.

Planting the seed

But the seeds of NACDS' sun care initiative began long before that. The Sun Safety Alliance was actually the brainchild of Wal-Mart executive vice president Tom Coughlin. Coughlin -- who serves on the advisory board of the University of Texas' M.D. Anderson Cancer Clinic--raised the issue of developing a national awareness campaign about the dangers of skin cancer to NACDS board members during the 2001 Annual Meeting.

After researching the issue, NACDS found there was a general lack of knowledge among consumers about sun care. As Schneider explained, research shows the general public understands that too much sun is not a good thing, but they don't often recognize that one blistering sunburn can almost double the risk of developing skin cancer. Two bad sunburns increase the likelihood to 70 percent.

With more than 1 million new cases diagnosed annually, skin cancer is the fastest-growing form of cancer. It also happens to be the only form that is entirely preventable. "NACDS realized we could develop an initiative to substantially reduce the prevalence of skin cancer," said Schneider.

NACDS has modeled the Sun Safety Alliance after Australia's trail blazing Sun Smart Program, which was launched in the 1980s. The Aussie program was created to stifle the prevalence of skin cancer, which, at the time, was significantly driving up the country's health care expenditures. Prior to the Sun Smart Program, 1-out-of-2 citizens developed skin cancer. The program called for school children to wear hats during recess, tree-shaded bus stops, and sun safety education for athletes and coaches.

By 1998, Australia's efforts created a major shift in skin cancer awareness. At the program's start, 7-out-of-10 Australians said they p referred the look of a suntan. Today, 7-out-of-10 say they prefer not to get a suntan.

Like the Sun Smart Program, the Sun Safety Alliance will target grade school students with educational programs created in partnership with the American Academy of Dermatology and American Academy of Pediatrics. The alliance has also been in talks with a major professional sports league regarding the possible recruitment of athletes as spokespeople for the cause.

At the retail level, the vision is to have displays designed to enable consumers to match their skin types against the UV index, helping ensure they select products with an adequate SPF level. At Marketplace, NACDS will have prototypes of its "Sun Safety Zone" display units--in both self-standing and shelf-display configurations--ready to show retailers.

NACDS retail members participating in the program will be offered in-store merchandising support, including point-of-purchase materials, pharmacist detailing and in-store events. To establish some level of brand recognition for the program, the Sun Safety Alliance logo will appear on participating suppliers' product labels, with special educational information included inside product packaging.

"By branding products as 'safe in the sun,' the alfiance will expand the base of future customers, and appeal to the next generation of users of products or services made or sold by alliance allies, enhancing their sales," said Fuller.

NACDS will launch the Sun Safety Alliance at retail at the start of sun season in 2003, but ultimately will expand the program to the entire year. "We want to make every day a sun safe day," said Schneider.