City Councilor Matt O'Malley (West Roxbury, Jamaica Plain) says making sunscreen dispensers outdoors as ubiquitous as hand-sanitizer stations in city buildings would let residents and visitors enjoy this most walkable of cities with less fear of sun-caused skin cancer.
In a motion that goes before the council on Wednesday, O'Malley calls for a hearing to consider how to equip Boston parks with free sunscreen dispensers so that people can liberally coat themselves with the lotion.
O'Malley says he already has the backing of the Melanoma Research Foundation.
The council's meeting begins at noon in its fifth-floor chambers in City Hall.
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Comments
Imagine, O'Malley voted against the raise!
By adamg
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 5:35am
Next?
Never let facts get in the
By Rob Not Verified
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 12:45pm
Never let facts get in the way here, Adam. Cmon.
Sunscreen dispensers in city parks
By [email protected]...
Mon, 04/27/2015 - 11:14pm
I think Matt was in the sun way too much when he was young. It must have fried his brain. Just thinking, And we pay this City Councilor how much per year. Be real.
Really? Nobody likes this?
By Mark-
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 12:44am
Melanoma is a terrible killer and a painful way to go. I understand that sunshine in the park seems healthy and full of fun, but the truth is sunburn is a dangerous experience that can come back to haunt you decades later. Making sunscreen available for all is a great idea, as it not only protects those who use it, but reminds everyone to use protection in the sun.
Really? Go buy some
By Liat
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 5:49am
Yes sunscreen is a good thing. Then go buy a tube and use it. Why does the city have to install dispensers? They have to be maintained, etc.
Logic that could be applied to other things
By adamg
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 6:14am
Yes water is a good thing. Then go buy a bottle and drink it. Why does the city have to install dispensers? They have to be maintained, etc.
Maintenance
By Sock_Puppet
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 7:46am
They've been working on water fountains for a while to make them more durable and to require less maintenance. The most they have to do is clean them twice a year when they turn them on and off. In between, they deal with bubble gum, sand, and blunt trauma.
A plastic tub full of boiling goo on a stick would last a week tops under the same conditions. These gimcraws will all be broken within a short time. Public money is better spent on things that serve the public better.
If your kids are so white they need special protection like the ginger boy who proposed this, you should take specialcare of them. Not everybody needs or uses sunscreen. Everybody needs and uses water.
Not exactly analogous
By Liat
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 8:19am
Comparing sunscreen and water is silly. The logic does not track. Try again.
What are your feelings on the
By adamg
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 9:07am
What are your feelings on the hand sanitizer the city gives out for free in City Hall and public schools?
Not really the same?
By anon
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 10:01am
I don't have a philosophical issue with this, but it seems impractical.
However, hand sanitizer serves to protect everyone against the spread of disease while sunblock is only protecting the individual using it. From a public health perspective, it seems very different in scope and yet the cost and upkeep on sanitizer stations inside a building where there are custodians 9-5 is a bit different than something up at Millennium or Fallon or Healy, etc....
boo to hand sanitizer
By Malcolm Tucker
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 10:11am
it kills all but the most virulent germs, which can then spread to those of us who have normally functioning immune systems.
while sunscreen dispensers may not be the most practical idea, I'd rather see something like them than continue to see hand sanitizer dispensers everywhere. like, just wash your hands. you will be fine.
[not attacking you, Vaughn, just getting in my $0.02 about hand sanitizer.]
What?
By anon
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 10:34am
Is this some offshoot of the anti-vaxxer movement? The concept that we should get sick more often to strengthen our immune systems? Sounds inconvenient for me personally and dangerous for infants, elderly, immuno-compromised, etc... As far as I know, hand sanitizer doesn't have the same issues as antibiotics in terms of overuse leading to a loss of effectiveness.
Here's a link about using it from the CDC - http://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/show-me-the-science... Yes, hand-washing is better, but it's not an either or situation.
If there's some legit science based research on this, please post it.
Suggested google search
By SwirlyGrrl
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 12:31pm
C-diff
The rise of C-diff is tied to the use of hand sanitizers. Most sanitizers cannot kill C-diff. Most sanitizers kill just about everything else. This results in a situation where the organisms that would out compete c-diff for food are nuked, C-diff is not, and thus C-diff grows completely out of control.
Think about the reasons why people on long voyages drank beer instead of water (yeast out competed pathogenic organisms), only flipped on its head.
The only known way to cure a C-diff infection is a poop transplant. Seriously.
This is not usually a problem in the general free-range world, however. It is an extremely serious problem in hospitals and clinics, and a potential problem in the homes of germaphobes.
Interesting
By anon
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 1:13pm
How does the rise of C-diff get offset by the decreasing (if it does) of other types of contact spread illness? Still seems like the dispensers for the public in hospitals, etc... are an overall health plus but I lack your professional insight.
Complicated issue
By SwirlyGrrl
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 2:27pm
Hospitals are a unique ecosystem, and the patients are not like the general population in that many are immune compromised.
While generalized use of sanitizers in that environment protects the immune compromised, it does lead to those on heavy doses of antibiotics becoming overwhelmed by C diff.
It would, at this point, be difficult to study the effect of cutting back on sanitizing agents in the hospital environment for reasons of liability. The current labor situation in hospitals also makes it difficult for staff to take time for proper handwashing, making sanitizers attractive.
If I understand correctly, if
By PeterGriffith5
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 4:28pm
If I understand correctly, if the time comes that I have to go to the hospital, I need to bring beer.
not as far as I know
By Malcolm Tucker
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 12:52pm
I don't think my distrust of hand sanitizer is related at all to anti-vaxxers; in fact, if I had to hazard a guess (and it's only a guess - I have no source for you, just a hunch), I'd bet that there's a fair amount of overlap in the Venn Diagram between anti-vaxxers and pro-hand-sanitizer-ers.
The link from the CDC is helpful, but I think it tends to underscore my initial point, wacky as it may be.
If Your Hands Are Filthy And There's No Other Alternative ...
By Elmer
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 2:27pm
... then using hand sanitizer is probably better than nothing, but it's definitely not a substitute for proper washing with soap and water.
Malcolm is correct that sanitizers don't kill all pathogens, and; like the overuse of antibiotics causes resistant strains of bacteria to emerge; sanitizer-resistant pathogens will remain after using it. Covering up dirt with a chemical gel still leaves everything on your hands; however, washing with soap and water physically removes it.
Would you want someone preparing and/or serving you food, who merely used sanitizer, instead of washing their hands?
As someone who often rides the Ⓣ, my hands come into contact with grab bars, handrails, and possibly other surfaces that have been touched by countless people. The very first thing I do when arriving home or to work, is to wash my hands; even before going into my office. Same thing after going to the grocery store; before putting away any groceries.
Obsessive-compulsive hand washing? Maybe not quite that much, but it has become a habit; my hands just "feel dirty" after touching lots of public surfaces, and they feel much better after a thorough washing. I can't say for sure if that's the reason why I haven't had a lot of colds or other illness, but I certainly believe it helps.
I agree completely. I wash
By Patricia
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 2:39pm
I agree completely. I wash my hands when I get home. When you think of it, money can be pretty questionable, let alone railings, door knobs, toilet handles, pets, etc.
Hand sanitizers will never repalce washing hands with soap and water.
Not sure if I'd be considered a germaphobe, but if you stop and think about everything we may come in contact with you could really gross yourself out.
As far as hospital workers go, my daughter never ever wears her work shoes in the house. In fact, she comes home, shoes off at the front door, grabs a change of clothes and heads to the shower before doing anything. Often times you see someone in scrubs at a store, hope they are running errands before their shift - not after.
You've all missed the point a bit
By anon
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 4:04pm
The sanitizer stations are there to offset the spread of germs at these specific spots, not to replace general good hygiene. Why not use these at hospitals, etc... and then still wash your hands? I don't get the objection to this as a general method to limit the spread of some germs. No-one is keeping you from washing your hands as well, later, when you are somewhere with a sink.
I agree and do keep sanitizer
By Patricia
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 5:00pm
I agree and do keep sanitizer in my car. But we do agree, sanitizer is not a replacement for soap and water. You'd be surprised that many people think so. I've seen it in restrooms.
The appropriate analogy is
By Refugee
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 11:35am
The appropriate analogy is not drinking fountains. It's bottled water dispensers. Should the city install drinking fountains in parks, connected to municipal water? Sure, maybe, water is cheap ($.001/serving) and the supply is unlimited. Should the city install 5-gallon Poland Spring bubblers in city parks? Of course not, bottled water is expensive ($0.05/serving) and the supply is very limited.
What O'Malley is missing is that a public beach in Miami is a totally different place from a grassy park in Boston. People here get a lot less sun, have a lot more shade, and wear a lot more clothing compared to a Florida beach. Free sunscreen might make sense at a public swimming pool in Boston, but not on the Common.
There is a public wading pool
By Rob Not Verified
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 1:13pm
There is a public wading pool on the Common though so....
Yes toilet paper is a good
By Felicity
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 8:55am
Yes toilet paper is a good thing. Then go buy a roll and use it. Why does the city have to install dispensers? They have to be maintained, etc.
Really?
By anon
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 4:24pm
Are you opposed to public restrooms as well, Liat? Those have to be maintained. Why not just go at home? You should have been prepared if you knew you were going to be away from home for a while! Do you wear adult diapers because you are opposed to public restrooms or do you just not leave your house for more than a few hours at a time?
It's Universal Hub. Of
By Rob Not Verified
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 8:19am
It's Universal Hub. Of course none of the commenters like this.
They're called trees...
By Neil
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 3:14am
Plenty of the original sunscreen dispensers in moist parks.
Good Lord.
If you're frequenting moist parks...
By eeka
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 5:29pm
I don't wanna know what kind of dispensers you need.
A more up to date Boston City Council
By theszak
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 4:38am
If only Central Staff of Boston City Council welcomed enquiries, feedback, suggestions, questions. Instead the manner of Council Central Staff is that of crony politics, offputting, deflecting, minimizing, lack of robust response, delaying, denial
Boston City Council could have Public Meetings in the neighborhoods. A more accessible City Council could use technologies and software to be more open. For example, PlainText Council Communications/Notices for screenreaders used by vision impaired folks.
Why are there not more Candidates for Boston City Council?... to bring City Council practices up to date.
Central staff? What, you're
By anon
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 10:14am
Central staff? What, you're upset that the admin people aren't taking policy suggestions? Talk to members of the council if you want to change the rules. I don't follow why you'd go yell at people who have literally zero power over your grievances and then complain that they didn't do anything.
Council Central Staff experience with technologies/software
By theszak
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 1:54pm
Council Central Staff are the administrative folks charged with the day to day operations like an enquiry for a Council Communication/Notice/Document yet lack technology/software nerd skills that many participants have at UniversalHub.com
Council Central Staff are generally suspicious, resistive, jaded about open government while merely enunciating the principles of transparency. For day to day administration folks knowledgable about up to date technologies/software are needed for distributing Council Communications as widely as possible including compatible PlainText for hard of hearing, deaf and vision impaired folks using screenreader technology.
Good idea in spirit
By Lecil
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 5:00am
But totally impractical. Maybe they can encourage sunscreen manufacturers to set up promotion booths instead? Then the city doesn't have to worry about maintenance and someone else gets to bear the costs...
Costs, details
By adamg
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 6:11am
Unlike certain Web sites, the Globe actually talked to O'Malley, who provides more details.
Love this!
By cubiclegirl
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 6:46am
As a fellow fair-skinned ginger, I looove this idea. When I was a kid, I used to get so many sunburns that the thought of going outside to play was just honestly painful. And I eventually ended up spending tons of time inside when really I should have been running around outside.
ew
By cybah
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 6:57am
the last thing I want to do is touch a public sunscreen dispenser. *shiver* You don't know who's hand was there first. And you know these things are just going to be caked and dried up because people wont use them properly. (or broken like many of these 'ideas' that get tried because they aren't maintained properly)
(and I do second that this stuff will not be used as sunscreen but as 'personal lubricant')
I'm sorry I think the idea is in the right place but I can think of many more things that could require O Malley's attention and our tax dollars than whether park go'ers are getting sunburned or not.
But go ahead if you must, but only if its no cost to the tax payers and someone else maintains them. Because we know if its up to the city, they'll be empty or broken for a long long time after they are initially installed.
This
By Scratchie
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 9:58am
Theoretically a good idea. Very impractical to implement for all the reasons listed in this thread.
The dispensers would be gross.
The dispensers would be broken.
The dispensers probably wouldn't get refilled in a timely fashion.
The sunscreen would break down due to the heat.
If and when we have the ability to tap into the municipal sunscreen supply that pipes sunscreen throughout the metro area and simply apply a spigot on the top of it, then it might be sane to compare this idea to public bubblers.
Cue bellyaching...
By lbb
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 7:57am
...about nanny states and how the city council should be doing REAL IMPORTANT STUFF in 3...2...
Nevermind.
Some of you obviously have deep well of dudgeon, but even so you're going to run out soon at this rate. I suggest you reserve some for your elder days.
I think this is a great idea!
By Felicity
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 8:59am
I think we are way too quick to cynicism. Progress requires imagination.
Progress?
By anon
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 9:32am
Like the old saying "Rome wasn't built in a day, with out sunscreen."
Whats next, free rain coats so people don't get hypothermia?
Free winter gloves so people don't get frostbite?
Free blood glucose meters for diabetic?
Progress isn't holding peoples hand every step of the way, it empowering people. Maybe do an ad campaign like Mumbles "fat smack" posters about higher fructose drinks.
After all were supposed to be the most advanced species on earth. Lets act like it....
Yes, actually
By adamg
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 9:50am
People in need can get free coats. It's one of the great things about living in a society where not everybody wants to just put the less fortunate out to die.
Through private donations
By anon
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 10:40am
Not local government.
To each his own
By adamg
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 1:32pm
I'm glad to live in a state and city that spend tax money, however imperfectly, to provide an actual safety net for people who need it.
not true
By bibliotequetress
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 2:53pm
The BPHC gives coats, gloves, socks, & blankets to the homeless each winter. And emergency clothing year round.
advanced anon
By Malcolm Tucker
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 10:14am
*without
*What's
*people's
*it's empowering
*we're
*Let's
you sound nice.
Act your age
By lbb
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 10:45am
...and get a real account if you're going to write screeds like that.
I was in San Diego this March
By tofu
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 9:13am
I was in San Diego this March and the sun was beating down on me hard (still felt good given the winter we had). I popped into a CVS and bought a small pocket-sized tube of sunscreen for $3. It lasted me a week and I still have some left. Problem solved.
If a small pocket-sized tube...
By lbb
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 10:46am
...lasted you a week in a city where there's never a cloud, you were either inside 23.5 hours out of the day, or you weren't using it right.
Or maybe
By anon
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 10:56am
only needed to cover a limited portion of ones body, not everyone walks around nude!
Wow
By Scratchie
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 11:12am
Nothing gets past Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective.
Wow
By lbb
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 11:14am
I bet nothing gets past your bunched-up wad of underwear either, "Scratchie".
I'll thank you in advance to
By Scratchie
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 11:40am
I'll thank you in advance to stop fantasizing about my underwear.
You are...
By lbb
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 3:11pm
...a ruiner of fun, Scrunchie. I mean Scratchie.
Do I sense some "textual tension" here?
By Whurlz
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 4:16pm
I'm weirdly tempted to tell you two to get a room, already.
Oh, look. I just did.
I may be a fair-skinned JP "socialist"...
By anon
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 9:46am
But, even I am against this. Give out coupons for free or reduced sunscreen from CVS, if you must. But dispensers in parks, that we all know will be broken, misused and not maintained? My vote is No.
I like how we're all just assuming
By Michael
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 10:04am
...it will ever be warm and sunny here again
Absurd
By Cleveland
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 10:31am
Proposals like this clearly show that the City Council has to much time on its hands. This brings the concept of a nanny state to a new low.
Better proposal
By anon
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 10:43am
Seeing as some people have skin allergies, we should just follow Mr. Burns lead and install a sun blocker.
https://metrouk2.files.wordpress.com/2011/03/artic...
Water yes, Sunscreen, etc. no.
By anon
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 12:36pm
Everyone needs water. Water fountains satisfy that need. Not everyone who is outside needs sunscreen. If I am walking around Jamaica Pond I don't need sunscreen. I am not in the direct sun long enough.
The comparison to hand sanitizers is false. Not everyone should use hand sanitizers. Anyone with psoriasis is causing more harm than good to their hands. The CDC reference also qualifies the efficacy of hand sanitizers by limiting their recommendation to the alcohol content of 60% and offers the caveat that even these are not always effective if not properly used. On the other hand free hand sanitizers in large public gatherings might be a good idea if they produce a genuine decrease in the inscidence of colds then perhaps the benefits outweigh the negatives. But in that case should any government mandate availability in all public places?
Bring your own toilet paper to a public toilet comparison? Well sometimes that actually is needed. Yet do we want bathrooms without the proper tools for the job?
If the debate is free hand sanitizers or not, and the argument is that if the city won't provide free hand sanitizers as a matter of cost, and therefore the city should not provide free bathrooms, then we could return to pay toilets. We could go a further step and install pay water fountains.
I think the idea of free SPF whatever is ridiculous. If I want a tube of skin protecting lotion then I can buy it. Plus even if the city spent the money on this what SPF will be used? Will the city uninstall the dispensing devices in the cold months? And just how much money will this cost? Should elderly folks who pay taxes but don't go out to parks have to support in their taxes paying for another person to have access to skin cream?
Matt: there are much better issues you could focus on. Such as a certain dental practise that uses deceit and lies to buy and tear down a building to put up a parking lot. Or deal with the plague of boom-boom cars and motorcyclists who like to terrorize people with noise. How much have you done to pressue Logan to stop terrorizing the Southwest section of the city with noise?
Great idea
By Kaz
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 12:38pm
However, implementation seems insurmountable.
You want a free/cheap way to dispense lotions at all the parks. You want people to use it, but not so much that it's no longer free/cheap. You want the dispenser to be unbreakable, but not so much that initial cost is high or use is too difficult. You want the ubiquity of public hand soap dispensers in bathrooms, but with the ruggedness of dog poop bag dispensers.
This just doesn't seem very viable...and for what purpose? To save people a few bucks or help those that didn't plan well enough in advance before heading out into the sun for the day?
When was the last time you said, "oh man, I'd totally go to the park today but I forgot/ran out of my sunscreen!"? If that's not occurring, I'm not seeing the use case.
They do it in Miami and it
By Rob Not Verified
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 12:43pm
They do it in Miami and it seems like it works out. I don't see why it couldn't be implemented here in a similar fashion. Might not be the most pressing need in the city but it'd be beneficial and not cost anything as proposed. Seems like a win-win.
Just started
By Kaz
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 12:47pm
It's barely been a full month of free sunscreen in Miami. Can we give it a year or two and see how it's going then?
I need to see what the
By Rob Not Verified
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 12:56pm
I need to see what the comment section of Universal South Beach looks like first.
Great Idea
By anon
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 12:44pm
As a son who watched a family member fight skin cancer over many severe battles with it, I think this is fantastic. I have forgotten to wear sunscreen many times as I am sure many others have. It looks like it getting privately funded as well so as a taxpayer it's even better.
Thanks Councillor O'Malley
Remember when able minded and
By anon
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 1:10pm
Remember when able minded and bodied adults had responsibility to take care of themselves and not expect everyone else to do it for them?
I'm trying to figure out the target of this campaign
By SwirlyGrrl
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 2:30pm
Most local people with low melanin know to use sunscreen.
Most outdoor athletes and their parents know to use sunscreen.
Who isn't using sunscreen, and why? If there is an at risk population, doesn't it make more sense to target them more directly with a public education campaign?
The only people that I could see benefiting here are the homeless population and tourists from high latitude places who get unpleasantly surprised. As in "How can you tell a British tourist from an Australian tourist? Look for the sunburn".
I also wonder if it would be cheaper to pay high school kids to sit under sun shades in each park and hand out little packets of sun screen along with information on sun damage risks in multiple languages. It would be a great learning and outreach project to have the kids help develop the outreach materials and the city might be able to get grants to fund that.
Why don't you ask the people
By Scratchie
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 2:40pm
Why don't you ask the people in Miami Beach?
If I'd have to guess, I'd say that maybe, in spite of the fact that we are all well-educated and responsible adults, it may be possible to conceive of a situation where one finds oneself (and one's family) out in the sun on a day when one has neglected to supply oneself in advance with a sufficient quantity of sunscreen.
In such a case, it does not, perhaps, require too much suspension of disbelief to imagine that some such unfortunate individuals might -- perhaps even against their better judgment -- opt for convenience over prudence, or even speculate that the sun is "not that bright" today, or that they "won't be outside for too long", and choose to forgo the additional effort and expense that would be involved in leaving Common, purchasing sunscreen, and returning.
While highly-evolved individuals such as you and I would never dream of compromising our families' health in such a crass and lazy manner, it is, I am afraid, not completely outside of the realm of possibility to imagine that such unthinking clods may, in fact, still exist in today's society. Providing such unfortunate souls with a convenient source of sunscreen close at hand, one that requires neither financial expenditure nor significant physical effort, may, in fact (astonishing as this may sound) make the difference between their willingness to protect their family's health instead of (in the vernacular) "blowing it off" and taking their chances in the blistering solar radiation that characterizes the summer season in our northern hemisphere.
While such selfish, lazy dolts are surely beneath any reasonable conception of "contempt", you will, I am sure, agree that their innocent children are still worthy of protection, and if there is anything that we, as intelligent, highly-educated alpha humans can do to ensure that such blameless little cherubs have a chance to rise above their no-doubt neglectful upbringings, it surely behooves us to do anything in our power to accomplish that objective.
Miami Beach isn't Boston
By SwirlyGrrl
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 3:11pm
Miami Beach is at a far lower latitude. Sun is a year round issue there, and a tourism issue. Dispensers likely meet their needs, but they might not be the right solution in Boston.
The point is that "putting sunscreen in a park" is a solution, and it might not be the best solution if we haven't actually defined what the problem is. Is the problem awareness? Is the problem access? Education?
TL/DR: it isn't a bad idea, but there may be better ideas for outreach, education, and dispensing given our seasonal climate.
Exactly, a seasonal PSA
By anon
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 3:47pm
Exactly, a seasonal PSA campaign makes so much more sense than an expensive give away program.
Damn sun is as dangerous to us as guns
By Ann Weatherbee
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 1:12pm
ban the SUN and do it now!
You made a funny!
By Scratchie
Tue, 04/28/2015 - 2:09pm
Who's a clever little girl?
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