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This study explored the prevalence and predictors of solar protection behaviour in a community sample of beachgoers. A total of 670 participants was randomly selected from six beaches in the Newcastle district. The solar protection behaviour of each participant was assessed by direct observation and interview. A subsample was also asked to complete a written questionnaire to assess attitudes to solar protection use, knowledge of skin cancer and awareness of recommended solar protection behaviours. Forty‐five per cent of the beachgoers in this sample were using a high level of solar protection, and a substantial proportion (16 per cent) of the sample was not using any kind of solar protection. Sunscreen with SPF 15+ was applied to at least one body region by 69 per cent of the sample, 17 per cent of the sample were wearing a recommended hat, 15.1 per cent were using shade, and 3.4 per cent were wearing a recommended style of shirt at the time of observation. Chi‐square analyses of the data for under‐15‐year‐olds indicated that a significantly greater proportion of 0‐ to 9‐year‐olds were well protected compared to 11‐ to 14‐year‐olds, but there was no difference in use of protection by boys and girls under 15 years of age. Stepwise regression analysis of the adult sample (15 years and over) showed that the predictors of overall level of solar protection were marital status and frequency of skin self‐examination in the past 12 months. The practical implications of these findings for future community‐based skin cancer prevention programs are discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to report on the government revenue gained from the sale of cigarettes to minors and the proportion of this revenue that is spent on attempting to prevent adolescents from taking up this habit Prevalence of smoking by minors was extrapolated for the individual states using Australian prevalence data; estimates of annual cigarette consumption were coupled with the respective cost of cigarettes in each state to derive an estimate of the total revenue accumulating from cigarette consumption by minors. From our analysis, approximately 211 000 Australian children under the legal age to purchase cigarettes consumed approximately 11.5 million packets of cigarettes in 1990. The estimated tax revenues to the federal and state governments from these sales were $8.42 million and $12.78 million respectively. While the average state revenue from cigarette consumption by minors during 1990 was just over $60 per under‐age smoker, only $0.11 per under‐age smoker was spent on anti‐smoking campaigns in 1990. This is equivalent to approximately 0.002 per cent of state revenue from cigarette smoking by those under the legal purchase age being spent on discouraging adolescents from taking up this habit Clearly, there is an inequitable expenditure on antismoking activities, given the enormous resources obtained from sales to minors.

The effects of two distribution strategies on the recall of receipt, retention, utilisation and perceived acceptability of written health education materials were investigated in two semirural communities. We randomly selected 512 people, 212 from general practitioners' surgeries, who received the materials from their general practitioners at the end of a routine consultation, and 300 from the electoral register, who received it through the mail in a personally addressed envelope. Of all those who received the materials, 55 (10.7 per cent) were not contactable and 386 (84.5 per cent) of those contacted consented to the survey. Structured interviews were conducted with consenting individuals two weeks after distribution to assess recall of receipt, retention, utilisation and perceived acceptability. Of those receiving the material by mail, 77.4 per cent recalled receiving it, 75.4 per cent reported keeping the booklet and 66.7 per cent reported reading it Of those receiving it from a general practitioner, 90.9 per cent recalled receiving it, 93.3 per cent reported keeping the booklet and 56 per cent reported reading it Perceived acceptability of the material was high, with over 80 per cent of respondents finding it very or fairly eye‐catching, believable, interesting and easy to read. Although general practitioner distribution led to higher rates of receipt and retention, mail‐out distribution led to higher utilisation rates and allowed access to a larger proportion of the population, resulting in more people being exposed to the education message.

The accessibility of health care services has been suggested to be one factor with the potential to ameliorate the health effects of socioeconomic disadvantage. From a randomly selected sample of households in the Lower Hunter Valley region, 2623 adults were surveyed in 1987–88 to identify their reported use of medical, allied and alternative health services during the previous four weeks. There was a higher prevalence of use of the 'usual’ general practitioner and medical services among educationally disadvantaged respondents only. No significant differences were evident between educational or between occupational groups in the prevalence of use of either alternative services or health services generally. Fewer occupationally disadvantaged respondents reported using allied health services. There was no difference in the number of health services used. Disadvantaged respondents were more likely to use medical services exclusively. Only educationally disadvantaged service users reported using any health, medical or general practitioner services more frequently than expected. In contrast, only occupationally disadvantaged service users reported using allied health services (and allied health services other than dentists) more frequently. The lack of consistent differentials in use across health services in favour of disadvantaged respondents suggests that a number of health care services may not be responding to the greater need for health care among disadvantaged members of the community.

This study presents findings on solar protection policies and practices in primary and secondary schools in New South Wales, Australia. The findings suggest that policies have been more fully articulated in primary schools than in secondary schools and that there is wide scope for further public health initiatives to protect children from the risk of skin cancer. Little attention has been given to the potential benefits of timetable changes and provision of shade in school environments, although school principals considered the latter would be a successful means of increasing protection. The level of solar education provided in the schools surveyed in our study was minimal, suggesting that urgent attention should be given to incorporating these issues in the school curriculum. Observations of school children's solar protection behaviours suggest that the majority of children used some form of protection in the middle of the day, but the form of protection changed with age. Consideration of more structural and environmental changes is needed to maximise the opportunities for solar protection in schools.