Zurich
Distributing free sunscreen on the street: the idea is moot
To fight skin cancer, politicians in Zurich are demanding that sun protection be free for the population. The idea could be discussed this fall in Bern.
published
“If sunscreen was freely available in the right places, it would also be used more,” proponents of the dispensers claim (illustrative photo).
20 min / Matthias Speicher
In Zurich, left-wing politicians want to fight skin cancer. As part of the prevention campaign, Ann Graf (PS) and Dominic Wasser (The Greens) are calling for free sunscreen to be made available in schools and outdoor public spaces in the city.
“In view of the increasing incidence of skin cancer in the population, we ask the city of Zurich to be more active in the field of prevention,” explains Dominik Wasser. He specifies that this requirement does not alter the individual responsibility of the population: “Everyone must wear sunscreen, whether or not there is a distributor of sunscreen.”
However, he is convinced that “if sunscreen is freely available in the right places, it will also be used more.” Zurich City Council has not yet taken a position on this matter.
A member of the Green Party, member of the Zug National Council, Manuela Wechelt, would also like all residents of Switzerland to have free access to sunscreen with a high UV filter. And this, in his opinion, is an important preventive measure against skin cancer. “I plan to give an intervention during the fall session,” she announced. The idea resonates positively with the Green Party and the left.
In the bourgeois camp, the idea is not accepted. I’m against the fact that taxpayers fund sunscreens for society. “If the state had money to fund sunscreen, it would be better to cut taxes,” said Andre Silberschmidt, Zurich.
“Protecting yourself from the sun is an individual responsibility of citizens – it is not the role of the state to provide these products,” concludes Thomas Ashe, chair of the UDC Parliamentary Group.
In the Netherlands, people are given free sunscreen on the beaches. It is available in old hand sanitizer dispensers. Also in Germany, the city of Norderstedt, near Hamburg, has installed nine sunscreen dispensers. If the idea is not on the agenda in Swiss cities, Winterthur might consider installing such diffusers as part of a prevention campaign.
(ZOA/AZE)
