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Duly Noted

Friday Jun 29, 2012 10:22 am

Prohibition Follies: Camps Ban Sunscreen as Drug

By Lindsay Beyerstein

Gateway drugs. Pretty soon they'll be snorting athlete's foot powder.   Paul Dutton, Creative Commons.

Some camps and schools have banned sunscreen because it's a drug:

But sunscreen rules are common. They typically stem from state and local policies that stop kids from bringing any drug — including non-prescription drugs — to school, says Jeff Ashley, a California dermatologist who leads an advocacy group called Sun Safety for Kids.

Sunscreens are regulated as over-the-counter drugs, so many districts treat them like aspirin, just to be safe, he says.

The kids may get melanoma, but at least they'll be drug-free.

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