With the heatwave in the Var, here's how to adapt your behavior on the beaches

The sun is beating down hard this Wednesday morning in Mourillon. It's barely 10:30 a.m. and the thermometer is already reading 29°C on the beaches of Toulon, where the towels are increasingly close together.

With the heatwave starting today, they're likely to be even more so. Umbrellas, on the other hand, are much fewer in number.

Yet, just a stone's throw away, a day dedicated to the risks associated with sun exposure has just begun: "Yellow June" and its races in the shade or while dressing up, its sun wheel... In short, a fun program to raise awareness among children first.

"Through them," confides Jean-François Civet, director of the Var Primary Health Insurance Fund, "the message is then passed on to adults."

Organised with the National Military Social Security Fund (CNMSS), in partnership with the League Against Cancer and with the support of the City of Toulon, the CPAM thus reminds us that while sunbathing remains a summer pleasure, it can also lead to serious problems, including skin cancer and eye diseases.

" In the sunniest department in France, it's a public health issue ," insists the director of the Var fund.

Prevent up to 80% of skin cancers

He also points out that by adopting the right behaviors, "80% of skin cancers can be avoided." In this case: do not expose yourself during the hours when the sun is most aggressive (between noon and 4 p.m.), cover your body, head and eyes appropriately, apply sunscreen with factor 50. Nothing but common sense that is all the more important to implement when it comes to children:

"Skin cancers are most often caused by excessive sun exposure during childhood and adolescence."

However, protecting yourself from ultraviolet rays is also an adult matter. Renaud Ferrand, director of the national military fund, cites an American study conducted among US Army veterans: "The risk of sun exposure is three times greater for veterans than for non-veterans, with military personnel being particularly exposed."

Proof, if any were needed, that we can never have tough enough skin to withstand the sun's attacks.