Aimed at families, the campaign is funded by a $1 million grant from the 3M Foundation, which will include volunteers from the society.
The campaign will include a series of family-oriented public events, whereby WDS members will offer free, kid-friendly advice, including sun safety activities, educational materials, as well as free sunscreen.
The program will also include the opportunity to have photographs taken with a UV Reflectance camera, and assessment with a Dermascan machine - both aimed at helping individuals gauge sun risk assessments.
The campaign will be kicked off in Greater Boston, Massachusetts, on Saturday, July 2, and will feature WDS dermatologic members, who will later be taking the campaign to 15 other US cities.
WDS President Jean Bolognia, M.D., professor of dermatology, Yale University said, "We are proud to inaugurate our national campaign in Boston, where our members who are deeply committed toskin cancer prevention are eager to promote sun safetyeducation in the community."
The society says that the impetus for the program came from the continuingskin cancer statistics, which underscore the need for greatereducation among various populations.
Over one million new cases of skin cancer are expected to be diagnosed this year. This figure means that approximately one American dies every 68 minutes from melanoma. It is also the leading form of cancer in women aged 25 to 29.
The society also says that being burnt more than five times is said to double the risk of a melanoma developing and, although skin cancer is highly treatable if caught early, prevention rather than treatment is the best solution.
In recent years the cosmetics industry has responded to the increased awareness of sun burn risks through the development of increasingly sophisticated and effective sunscreen formulations.
This has led to a rash of new UV filters, which are said to provide individuals with greater levels of sun protection. Typical of this was BASF's announcement earlier this year that it is teaming up with Japanese ingredients company Sakai Chemicals to develop a microfine titanium dioxide filter.