Goodbye Sunburn, Hello Rickets

It looks like an old scourge is making a comeback. Hello again, rickets.

The doctor interviewed here states that 20% of kids he sees have 'clinical rickets' due to a lack of exposure to sunshine, a quite startling figure if true. The parent in the film was using factor 50 sunscreen to 'protect' her daughter, but why choose a product so ridiculously over-protective?

Now, it's only a guess here, but I don't think scaremongering like this helps much.

Most skin cancers are caused by overexposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or sunbeds.

Don't let sunburn catch you out. Whether you're at home or abroad, use shade, clothing and at least SPF15 sunscreen to protect yourself and be SunSmart.

Did someone say cancer? Aaaargh! Quick, run down to Boots and buy the strongest stuff they have, if that there sun comes near my kids I swear I'll do time.

Of course, if you delve further into the CRUK site, you'll find a little bit about the need for kids to be exposed to sunshine for their own good ... but only a little bit.

But the amount of time in the sun that you need to make enough vitamin D is typically short and less than the amount that makes skin redden or burn. It should be enough to regularly go outside for a matter of minutes around the middle of the day without sunscreen.

That's all, just "a matter of minutes", then slap the cream on with a trowel, for Chrissakes!

Which is totally different from the advice given by the Beeb's chosen expert on the subject, Dr Rosemary. She talks of "20 to 30 minutes without sun cream" being necessary, and that "generally, factor 15 is enough". Really Rosemary, not at least factor 15?

Isn't this confusing? Hell, if you're a parent, may as well stay on the safe side, eh? Factor 50 it is then.

I was going to make another point about this, but my mind's gone blank, so please help me out. Which huge multi-national industry who produce lucrative sunscreen is CRUK heavily involved with again?

Look, come on people, it's high time this risk-terrified nonsense was stopped. Parents are being manipulated one way and another by haughty vested interest 'experts', foisting faux science and rent-led terror on a population who believe far too much of what they read or see.

One of the suggested ways of getting vitamin D is by walking to school but, naturally, the scares have already been well-placed to prevent that in most cases. What a choice that is! Rickets, or gang rape from the hordes of paedophiles hanging around outside schools.

It'll just have to be rickets, really, at least it's better than cancer.

So welcome back, rickets, long time no see. Pull up a chair and tell us what you've been up to in the past hundred years or two.