March 26, 2020
The Honorable Ron DeSantis
Governor, State of Florida
The Capitol 400 S. Monroe St.
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0001
Re: Support for Florida Senate Bill 172
Dear Governor DeSantis:
On behalf of the Public Access to SunScreens (PASS) Coalition, a multi-stakeholder coalition composed of public health groups, dermatologists, sunscreen manufacturers, and leading advocates for skin cancer patients, we wish to express our support for Florida Senate Bill (SB) 172, which would overturn current and future bans and other actions related to the use of certain widely used sunscreen ingredients, and urge that you sign this legislation into law as soon as possible. These Food and Drug Administration (FDA)- approved ingredients represent some of the most effective sunscreen technologies legally marketed in the U.S. and help protect Floridians, visitors to Florida, and all other Americans from the dangers of skin cancer.
As you know, according to the Surgeon General nearly 5 million Americans each year are treated for skin cancer, making it the most common form of cancer in the United States. Treatments for skin cancer result in $8.1 billion per year in health care spending. The alarming rate of skin cancer means that each year there are now more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer and colon cancer. Melanoma, attributed primarily to UV exposure, is the most deadly form of skin cancer causing one death per hour in the United States. From 1975-2011, rates of melanoma in young men and women ages 20-39 years increased by 34 percent in men and by 84 percent in women.