Kiwis Are Urged to be Sunsmart

Kiwis Enjoying Summer Events And Holiday Weekends Are Urged to Be Sunsmart.

“It is important to use sun protection every day, even on cloudy days,” says Megan Chapman, the Health Promotion Agency’s (HPA) SunSmart manager.

"Sun protection is needed from September to April when the sun’s ultra violet (UV) rays are strongest. Depending where in New Zealand you are, the period of time sun protection is required varies.

To make it easy to be SunSmart, the HPA’s Sun Protection Alert gives the exact time period each day when sun protection is needed. It takes into account geographical location and weather factors.

“When you are out and about it is easy to find out the time period when sun protection is recommended in your location, by checking out the Sun Protection Alert on your mobile phone,” she says.

The Sun Protection Alert is found on MetService.com, MetService phone apps and in all major daily newspapers.

Megan Chapman says that lots of summer outdoor events are held during January and February including the Seven Days of Sevens Festival in Wellington and the Anniversary Weekend events on the Auckland waterfront and Waitangi Day celebrations across New Zealand.

"Kiwis need to remember to ‘slip, slop, slap and wrap’ - slip on a shirt or into the shade, slop on plenty of broad-spectrum sunscreen of at least SPF30, slap on a hat and wrap on a pair of wrap-around sunglasses."

ENDS

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