'Scrap VAT rate applied to sunscreen products'

Co-op Midcounties has urged the government to exempt sunscreen products from value added tax (VAT).

The consumer co-operative has written to the government to reclassify sunscreen as an essential healthcare item, which would allow it to be VAT exempt.

The average bottle of sunscreen costs between £5 and £7, with around £1.50 VAT charge.

Sunscreen is currently classified in the UK as a “cosmetic product”. However, Cancer Research UK has found that getting sunburnt just once every two years can triple the risk of melanoma skin cancer.

The melanoma skin cancer incidence rates have more than doubled (135 per cent) in the UK since the early 1990s.

Co-op Midcounties Chief Executive Phil Ponsonby said: “Sunscreen is an essential healthcare product and we don’t think it’s right or fair that it should incur VAT. We need to do everything we can to make it as affordable as possible, and we’re therefore asking people to join our campaign, write to their MP and make a change that will help to reduce the risk of skin cancer for everyone.”

Co-op Midcounties expects removing VAT from these essential items will play a significant part in making sunscreen more affordable.

Dr Jones said: “Sunscreen is a really important medical product that prevents against the risk of skin cancer. I fully support the Co-op Midcounties campaign and it’s important that we get Ministers interested in removing VAT from sunscreen. There is a wide consensus of doctors, skin specialists, dermatologists and cancer specialists who would agree that sunscreen should be reclassified as a healthcare product.”