The Queensland Cancer Council says teenagers across the state are ignoring warnings about sun exposure and skin cancer.

A new survey of hundreds of Queenslanders show more than half believe high school students are most at risk of sunburn and skin cancer.

Cancer Council spokeswoman Katie Clift says the perceptions are accurate, with three quarters of teens aged 16 and 17 reporting that they have been sunburnt in the past 12 months.

“Teenagers across the state are the least likely to protect themselves from the sun and therefore from skin cancer,” she said.

“We often see a trend that primary students are protected really well, so Slip, Slop, Slap works in that young age group.

“But once they graduate to secondary school often the behaviour changes and they just start to act as if they are a bit more bullet proof.

“We’re certainly fighting perceptions that it’s not cool to wear a hat.

“This younger age group, research has shown, don’t like ‘hat hair’, for example.

Article: James Kelly