""Sunscreens just aren't as good as people think they are," said Dr. James Spencer, a dermatologist in St. Petersburg, Fla. "They aren't perfect, but they are the best tool we have." "

""There's no such thing as a safe tan," added Dr. Darrell Rigel, a clinical professor of dermatology at New York University who does laboratory research on melanoma and other skin cancers. "

"Rigel said that sunscreens were designed initially to block out UVBs, because scientists thought these rays were to blame for sunburns and skin cancer. More recent studies suggest that UVA rays are also dangerous. But most current sunscreen labels don't offer a measure of UVA protection, he said."

"While there's agreement on how to measure UVB rays, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has spent almost three decades trying to determine how best to measure UVA rays. There are at least six different ways to do it, and the health agency hasn't settled on the best one. The agency said it would have a final answer in the coming months. "

"Spencer is working with the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) to create a seal of approval for sunscreens, much like the American Dental Association has done. Companies wanting to carry the AAD seal would have to submit independent measures of their product to show that it offers adequate SPF protection and provides "broad-spectrum" protection against ultraviolet rays, as well as evidence of durability."

"Meanwhile, unless you're a chemist or a dermatologist, it's tough to make sense of labeling on sunscreen lotions. "

"For one thing, many products claim "broad-spectrum" protection, meaning they block both UVA and UVB rays, and that means absolutely nothing, Riger said. He added that consumers should look for chemicals like oxybenzone, avobenzone and parsol 1789 that block both UVA and UVB rays. European manufacturers use another powerful UV blocker called mexoryl. L'Oreal just introduced a product, called Anthelios SX, with this newly approved ultraviolet ray blocker. "

"One of the biggest problems with sunscreens is the stability of the chemicals used -- some break down faster than others when exposed to sunlight and lose their potency to block UVA and UVB rays. Riger said that Neutrogena's Helioplex is one product that maintains stability over time."

"More than a million new skin cancers are diagnosed each year in the United States, and rates are climbing. The most aggressive and deadly is melanoma, diagnosed in 60,000 people a year. Unchecked, melanoma thickens and spreads and is responsible for about 8,000 deaths a year, according to federal statistics. The two other types of skin cancer -- basal cell and squamous cell -- are slow-growing and can generally be caught in time for successful treatment. Still, squamous cell carcinoma claims about 2,200 lives a year. "

""The development of cancer is not a single event," Spencer explained. Unlike some other cancers, "the cause of skin cancer is not confusing," he added. "One thing causes it -- overexposure to the ultraviolet rays of the
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