No Hats?
While getting ready for work this morning I was watching The Today Show and couldn’t believe what I saw…or didn’t see. They were doing a “winter vacation” themed show today and were at the beach doing all the fun beach stuff we all do. During the show they had two segments about beach essentials. One piece was for adults and one for children. During the segment for adults they mention sunglasses, sunscreen, a water bottle and a couple other items. During the childrens segment they talked about sun protective shirts, sunscreen and water guns that double as flotation devices. Now all of these things sound like the perfect setup for a fun day in the sun but what did they forget? HATS! How can The Today Show, or any TV show, do a piece about “fun in the sun” without mentioning the importance of wearing a hat with proper UV protection. Over one million people in the USA are diagnosed with skin cancer every year so to ignore something as vital to skin cancer prevention as a hat does a dis-service to The Today Show viewers. Now you might say that I have a vested interest in getting hats on television because I sell hats you’d be right. But if you see what I see every summer you’d feel the same way. We have customers come in who have had pieces of their noses, ears, faces and scalps removed due to skin cancer. That should be enough to convince anybody to wear a sun hat and use sunscreen.
If you feel the same way I do about this be sure to let The Today Show know by emailing them at today@nbc.com.
Don’t take my word for it, take the time to learn more about skin cancer at these sites:
Skin Cancer Foundation
Mayo Clinic
American Cancer Society
Stepping off my soap box now.
Aaron