- Sunscreen should be VAT-exempt to make it more affordable due to rising skin cancer cases
- Laurence Scerri, president of the Maltese Association of Dermatology and Venereology, supports this exemption
- Sunscreen has medicinal value and should be treated like other VAT-exempt pharmaceutical products
- Sunscreen reduces UV damage, especially important in sunny countries like Malta
- Treating skin cancers is a significant burden on the health budget
- Malta sees 120 to 150 melanoma cases annually
- Skin cancer cases in Malta nearly doubled from 2010 to 2020
- Many skin cancer patients do not use sunscreen or protective clothing
- Scerri’s association has conducted campaigns for sun protection and early detection
- Government is urged to support these efforts financially
- Public is advised to use sunscreen with factor 50 or higher and reapply every three hours
Source: isc.co.uk
Note that this post was (partially) written with the help of AI. It is always useful to review the original source material, and where needed to obtain (local) advice from a specialist.
