The 16th Sun Protection Conference, entitled “A Decade of Challenges - The Uncertain Future of Sun Protection”, will take place on 28 and 29 November 2023 at the Royal College of Physicians in London. Professor Paul Matts, who is organising the event, lifts the veil on the current changes affecting the sector… and inspires the conference programme.
Paul Matts’ vision
“Looking back at our sell-out conference in 2023, I remember choosing the main theme carefully, ‘A Decade of Challenge – The Uncertain Future of Sun Protection’, which seemed to capture perfectly the years ahead. Indeed, we are now living in that decade – no less full of challenge and uncertainty!
As I look around today, however, there is another word that describes what I see and sense… “CHANGE”.
As I write this, the 2006 European Commission Recommendation on Sunscreen Products – which, for 18 years, has formed the fundamental framework for the way these products are tested and labelled for half a billion consumers – is being re-opened and revised comprehensively. Will we finally move away from numerical protection factors? Will we recognise and harmonise so-called Primary and Secondary sunscreen products? Will we dispense with unhelpful consumer-facing references to “UVB” and “UVA”? To what extent will this revision form a template for other geographies, worldwide?
At the same time, two new ISO alternative SPF test methods – ISO 23675, the In Vitro ‘Double Plate’ Method and ISO 3698, Hybrid Diffuse Reflectance Spectroscopy – are being published as final International Standards, fulfilling the vision for non-human testing set out years ago by both the European Commission and FDA… the single-greatest shake-up in our industry in decades. How will these new methods be received and deployed? Will we now see a more level playing-field, particularly as we consider this change in methodology in tandem with a change in labelling?
This next Sun Conference in 2025, therefore, will pick up where we left off in 2023. A world-class, balanced, carefully-curated faculty and agenda will once again dissect, analyse and discuss these issues – and more.”
Session topics
Session 1: The blessing and curse of our sun – changing perception on the human health benefits of sun exposure, the continuing skin cancer pandemic, lessons learned from gold-standard national public education campaigns.
0Session 2: On-going challenges to our UV filter palette – where are we?
Session 3: Changes in sunscreen testing and labelling… what can we expect?
Session 4: Change is here to stay! A vision of the future.
To be noted : a 10% early booking discount is offered until December 31st.
Further information
• Visit the Sun Protection Conference website
