Scrapping VAT on sun cream - 13,000 reasons it’s a no-brainer of a bright idea

NOTHING is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.

That was my reaction to the call this week for VAT on sun cream lotions to be scrapped in the next budget.

The plea came from the CEO of the Irish Cancer Society, Averil Power, and it made such perfect sense, that you wondered why on earth VAT had been slapped on such a life-saving product in the first place.

Well, as Ms Power pointed out, it is because sun cream is treated as a cosmetic product rather than an essential medical product.

Say that again?!

Yes, the Government seems to think that people buy these lotions because they think they enhance their beauty, rather than, er, playing a key role in staving off the most common cancer in Ireland.

Yes, applying cream can help combat the effects of ageing, but come off it - if the sun didn’t harm us at all, would you go to the trouble of slopping it on several times a day? I know I wouldn’t.

I have no idea who made the decision that sun lotion is a cosmetic rather than a medical product, but I imagine it is likely that this is another example of why we need more women in positions of power in this country!

The point is, sun lotion can be very expensive. And as Ms Power pointed out, 20% of that cost is VAT.

It’s human nature, before heading off to the beach or when packing for a holiday, to pack less of something expensive than you need, and to use it less liberally than you should.

That is currently the case with sun cream.

We are taught to lather it on ourselves and on our children on a regular basis, but it would be foolish to imagine that the price of it, in a cost-of-living crisis, doesn’t come into the mental equation.

When using too little could turn out to be a life-or-death decision, we can see how scrapping VAT on the product could make a crucial difference.

As a general rule, the British Association of Dermatologists says you need at least six full teaspoons of cream to cover the body. This means, for a week’s holiday, you should pack at least a 200ml bottle of suncream per person.

This could cost €35 per person per week, although some supermarkets do stock cheaper brands. Then again, are cheaper brands providing the same coverage and protection?

These are the kinds of dilemmas that consumers, particularly parents, have to face every summer, or before every trip abroad.

In truth, there are 13,000 reasons to make it easier for people to buy sun cream - that is the number of people diagnosed with skin cancer in Ireland every year.

It is our most common cancer, and sun damage is the prime cause of it.

It is strange to think this is the case in a country which takes a perverse pride in its rainfall, its greenery, and wash-out summers - but climate change is here and now, and few would argue that the sun is more damaging these days than it was in our younger days.

My own father, who worked outdoors his whole life, ed away from secondary cancer, after initially being diagnosed with skin cancer.

He thought the damage to his skin was down to his psoriasis, and by the time he was diagnosed, it was ultimately too late.

I wouldn’t suggest that the high price of sun cream was to blame for his death, but anything we can do to make it more affordable and accessible will surely save more lives. Sun cream shouldn’t be a luxury that only those with plenty of spare cash can afford.

Scrapping VAT may also in fact save the Government money in the long-term. As Ms Power pointed out: “Prevention of skin cancer is a lot cheaper than a cure, both for the individual and also for the State.

“We don’t want anyone to be put off using it because of cost.”

Indeed, as the CEO of the Irish Cancer Society added, Ireland could follow an initiative in the Netherlands and provide free sun protection in public places.

“Sometimes, people forget to put on sun protection,” she said, “and schemes like these will make it easy for people to protect themselves and their children from the sun throughout the day.”

The Irish Cancer Society trialled a similar scheme in Ireland before and had a really positive response, she said.

In the UK, high-factor sunscreen is on the National Health Service prescription list for certain conditions and is already provided VAT free when dispensed by a pharmacist to these patients.

These initiatives are great - and scrapping VAT can only enhance our national protection to the dangers of skin cancer.

We have been hearing a lot of calls from a lot of people and organisations as to how the Government can use its budget surplus in the best manner.

I have yet to hear a single one that is better than the relatively cheap call to scrap VAT on sun creams.