PROVIDENCE – Next Monday, US Senator Jack Reed will join DEM Director Janet Coit and representatives from the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH), Raw Elements USA, and health-care partners at Scarborough State Beach to announce an initiative that provides complimentary, certified natural, environmentally-safe sunscreen dispenser stations at all Rhode Island state beaches and most state parks for the 2019 summer season.
WHO:
US Senator Jack Reed
DEM Director Janet Coit
Nancy Sutton, Chief of RIDOH's Center for Chronic Care and Disease Management
Brian Guadagno, Founder/CEO, Raw Elements USA
Robert Dyer, MD, South County Dermatology
Joseph Dziobek, Director, Partnership to Reduce Cancer in Rhode Island
WHAT: Launch of initiative providing complimentary sunscreen at state parks and beaches and raising awareness of sun safety in RI
WHEN: Monday, July 1, 2019, at 10:30 AM
WHERE: Scarborough North State Beach, 970 Ocean Road, Narragansett. (This is a "rain or shine" event. If it's sunny, we'll be on the boardwalk on the beach side of the main pavilion. If it's raining, we'll move inside to the pavilion's foyer area.)
Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States. There are over 2 million new cases diagnosed and over 5 million people treated each year. Overexposure to the sun is the leading cause of skin cancer. By making sunscreen readily available, Rhode Island is helping its residents and visitors take the first step in reducing their risk of developing skin cancer.
Rhode Island is a national leader in driving sunscreen standards. Senator Reed authored the Sunscreen Innovation Act in 2014 to help ensure that US consumers have access to safe and effective sunscreen. In February 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration responded by issuing new proposed regulations to the sunscreen industry.
Sun safety is a priority at both the state and local level in Rhode Island. For the past six years RIDOH's Comprehensive Cancer Control Program has worked closely with state and local parks and recreation partners to improve adoption of sun-safe behaviors among outdoor workers, beach-goers, and recreational athletes. Again this summer, RIDOH along with the Partnership to Reduce Cancer in Rhode Island, the Dermatology Department of the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, Lifespan Community Health, and NBC 10 will continue providing complimentary Skin Check skin cancer screenings and sun care education at state beaches and parks.
This complimentary sunscreen initiative is funded by RIDOH and the Partnership to Reduce Cancer in Rhode Island through a federal Comprehensive Cancer Control cooperative agreement from the US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control as well as by investment from South County Dermatology and Raw Elements.