
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 24, 1995                   TAG: 9505240112
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                                LENGTH: Short

SILVER SCREEN WILL PUSH SUNSCREEN

Coming to a theater near you: a summer health campaign urging people to use wide-brimmed hats, sunglasses and sunscreen to keep from getting ugly wrinkles.

But the real message is that skin cancer is the most rapidly increasing form of\ cancer among Americans.

``There is no such thing as a safe suntan,'' Peyton Weary, a professor of dermatology at the University of Virginia, said at a news conference Tuesday. ``There is an undeclared epidemic of skin cancer in the United States.''

The 40-second public-service announcements - to begin showing at theaters nationwide in June - feature actor John Goodman promoting the National Weather Service's year-old ultraviolet index.

The index, widely reported by newspapers, television and radio, estimates the sun's expected intensity around noon the next day. The forecast can help people decide whether to risk exposure or use sunscreen and hats.

- Associated Press

by CNB