Insufficient sun exposure is responsible for approximately 340,000 deaths annually in the United States and 480,000 deaths annually in Europe, while non-melanoma skin cancers account for 63,700 deaths worldwide. Skin cancer only occurs due to excessive exposure combined with a weakened immune system, which is really rare.

You're more likely to die in a traffic accident or from insufficient sun exposure than to ever develop skin cancer.

> You're more likely to die in a traffic accident or from insufficient sun exposure than to ever develop skin cancer.

In your neck of the woods maybe. This is not accurate everywhere.

It’s the complete opposite where I live.

Which is where?

Australia. We have the highest rates of skin cancer in the world due to high UV levels.

“Skin cancer causes more deaths than transport accidents every year in Australia.”

I can’t leave the house for more than like five minutes for big chunks for at least half the year without having to smother myself in sunscreen so for large parts of the year I just don’t go outside during like 9AM-6PM.

I fell asleep once in the car with the window open by mistake, I was out for like 45 minutes. A decade later that arm is still an entirely different color to my other one. Wild, one of the worst burns I’ve ever had.

edit

And to think, that’s die from a skin cancer, not merely develop it. So it actually blows that claim out of the water for Australia by a way larger margin than I initially thought.

2 out of 3 Australians will develop skin cancer in their lifetime.

Thank you for sharing! Yeah, the thinner ozone layer there does sound like it makes things worse, especially for people with more European ancestry.

What a great big world we live on!

Yeah, one of the things I loved about Europe was being able to go outside on a lark without worrying that if I wasn’t watching my watch that I’d burn to an absolute crisp. I miss that :/

He had very strong skin, look at how tanned he is: https://c7.alamy.com/comp/2NG12TA/irving-link-left-a-41-year...