The health of the public is being put at risk by recommendations to cover up and stay out of the sun in the UK. These recommendations, which are part of Cancer Research UK's SunSmart programme, increase the risk of several types of cancer, and may also increase deaths from melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer. Increased exposure to sunlight or greater intake of vitamin D has been found to reduce the risk of five common cancers in case/control studies. These are cancer of the colon, breast, ovary, prostate and lymphoma. Additional evidence based on differences in incidence...