Low factor sun creams taken off the shelves

Britain's second largest high street chemist has withdrawn all suntan lotions under factor 15 in response to new concerns over skin cancer.

Lloydspharmacy, which has more than 1,300 UK stores, has cleared its shelves following a warning from Cancer Research UK that lower factor creams do not provide adequate protection from the sun's harmful rays.

Cancer Research UK recommends that sunbathers should use at least sun protection factor (SPF) 15 which allows only 7 per cent of harmful rays to reach the skin. Official figures show that, whereas Australia has more cases of skin cancer than Britain – around 8,000 diagnoses per year compared with Britain's 6,000 – Britain now has more deaths from skin cancer than Australia. On average, 1,600 people a year die in the UK each year compared with just 1,000 in Australia as greater awareness of the early stages of the disease has cut Australia's melanoma death-rate.

Lloydspharmacy's move highlights the system of grading sun creams. The factor system rates creams from factors two to six – which permits very limited sunbathing – to factor 30 which is the highest protection available and does not allow the skin to tan. But in all cases the factor advised depends on the type of skin, strength of sun and wind, and the time between applications. Furthermore, health experts are concerned that almost any sun cream gives a false sense of security, a concern which is backed by a study published by the US Journal of the National Cancer Institute which concluded that the higher the factor sun cream used, the longer the user remains in the sun, therefore increasing the risk of cancer.

The NHS Direct website says that the best prevention for skin cancer is to keep out of the sun and avoid excessive sunbathing. It also recommends people do not stay out in the sun between 11am and 3pm, when the sun is at its strongest. The website says that high factor sunscreens – sun protection factor 15 and above – can be effective but should be applied regularly when exposed to the sun.

Health experts point out that a suntan is the body's way of indicating that the skin has been damaged by the sun and protecting the skin from any further damage. Mark Green, the commercial director of Lloydspharmacy, said that over the past five years increasing numbers of customers had been buying higher factor sun creams, with those below factor 15 accounting for only 25 per cent of its sun lotion sales. "We are trying to educate customers and we are very clear in telling people to reapply sun cream through leaflets and on warnings on our products," he said. "There is strong evidence that people are getting burned because they stay out too long in the wrong factor."

Other chemists said they had no immediate plans to follow the decision of Lloydspharmacy. Boots said it already employed specially trained advisers to highlight the dangers of inadequate sun protection as well as providing leaflets and working with local health authorities.

A spokeswoman said: "While we try to get the message through that factor 15 should be the minimum factor used, we know that there are customers who think they would choose to use nothing. Therefore our view is that some protection at least is better than none."

Boots added that while 10 years ago their bestselling suncream was factor eight, now it is equally split between factors 15 and 25.

'You still see bronzed bodies on Bondi Beach, but mostly they belong to tourists, not locals'

By Kathy Marks in Sydney

It's a perfect late autumn day in Sydney – bright sunshine, clear blue sky – and the beach at Nielsen Park is crowded with locals. Women wear broad-brimmed hats, teenagers sprawl under parasols, while scampering children are dressed in bathing suits that cover them from neck to elbows to knees.

This reluctance to expose skin to the merciless rays is largely due to the "slip, slop, slap (slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat)" public health campaign of the past two decades.

You still see bronzed bodies on Bondi Beach, but generally they belong to northern hemisphere tourists soaking up the sun before going home. Most locals would not dream of lying out in the midday sun.

The fear of skin cancer affects every aspect of life in a country that loves to live outdoors. Shops offer a huge range of sunscreen products, mainly high-factor, and many public places, such as tennis clubs and swimming pools, keep large tubs of suntan lotion at reception for patrons. Members of the Australian cricket team appear at matches with their faces smeared in zinc cream.

Many people wear sunscreen as a matter of course, and yesterday morningI saw a man carrying his baby in a smart black sling with an enormous black umbrella above, such as you see in the City of London on rainy days.

The propaganda is compelling, and I count myself a convert. When I lived in Sydney briefly in the 1980s, I was a dedicated sun worshipper. I remember the women in my office being horrified by my tan and urging me to stay out of the sun.

Now, older and wiser, I would never contemplate sitting in the direct sun. I wear sunscreen just to walk my dog in the mornings (I still don't wear a hat, though, an omission for which I was recently reprimanded by a complete stranger while climbing a mountain in Tasmania).

That Australia still has the world's highest rate of skin cancer is in some cases due to damage that was done before the campaigns started, but some cancer experts are blaming the increased use of sunscreen, saying that it fosters complacency. Even with factor 30, it's dangerous to bake.