Scientist say skin cancer prevention campaigns are putting people at risk of high blood pressure Professor Martin Feelisch says skin cancer prevention campaigns are sending out the wrong messages to the public British scientist says lack of sunlight increases risk of high blood pressure National Cancer Council encourages sun in morning and afternoonÂ But the national foundation does not discourage people seeking sunlight By Leesa Smith for Daily Mail Australia Skin cancer prevention messages have started to become scare campaigns as people are hiding from the sun, increasing the risk of heart-related conditions, a British scientist claims. Professor Martin Feelisch says recent research shows that there are more positive benefits to moderate exposure to the sun than there are detrimental effects - despite skin cancer claiming the lives of 2,000 Australians every year. The Clinical and Experimental Sciences Professor, from the University of Southampton, made the controversial statements at The Australian Health and Medical Research Congress in Melbourne this week. Professor Martin Feelisch says recent research shows that there are more positive benefits to moderate exposure to the sun than there are detrimental effects Professor Feelisch said the health benefits of sunlight should be highlighted to help reduce high blood pressure which often leads to heart disease and stroke. He added that there needs to be a greater balance of the negative and positive effects of the sun exposure referring toÂ research published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.Â 'That may be very important for a high risk group but that high risk group are the minority of the population,' he told The Sydney Morning Herald. 'Many others would probably very likely tolerate higher than currently recommended exposure levels, provided their skin gets gradually used to this, and their health would benefit from that.'Â However, Cancer Council Australia CEO Professor Ian Olver told Daily Mail Australia he disagreed that only a minority of people were at a high risk of danger from the sun. 'Certainly fairer skinned people have more of a chance of burning than darker skinned people,' he said.Â 'But there's a whole range of occupations where people get a lot of sun exposure.' 'And also going to the beach is a leisure activity which is very popular across the whole spectrum of society, so I don't think we are talking about a small sub-group.'Â Professor Feelisch claims people are too scared to expose themselves to natural sunlight Professor Feelisch says skin cancer prevention campaigns were sending the wrong message to the public. 'Everybody is so scared to expose themselves to natural sunlight or slap on sunblock lavishly even if they go outside for 15 minutes,' he told The Sydney Morning Herald.Â That is cutting precisely the bit that is required to keep us healthy. Professor Olver said the last thing the national foundation sought to do was encourage people to shun sunlight. 'We don't want to scare them from going out in the sun at all we want to protect them when the sun is likely to burn them but when the sun is not intense,' he said. 'We are using the UV index - so three and above is where you need protection when you are out in the sun - less than three you don't.' Cancer Council Australia Professor Ian Olver says people need to cover up when the UV index is over three There are 2,000 people who die every year of skin cancer in Australia He said the aim is to prevent the current figure of Â 2,000 people dying of skin cancer each year in Australia. 'We are a unique country because you've got a Caucasian population in a climate where they are not as protected naturally because they don't have as much pigment in their skin so they are more likely to get burnt in intense sunlight,' he said. You do need some sunlight for things like vitamin D production - so we want them to get a balance. Professor OlverÂ recommends people download theÂ The Sunsmart phone app provides a UV scale to show when the safest hours of each day to be outdoors. 'It shows when it's three and above in different geographic locations as it's impossible to get the same message out to everyone because the sun is more intense in the north than in the south,' he said. 'We want people to enjoy the Australian sun - we don't want them to be scared to go out in the sun but times they are likely to burn we want them to put on clothing, sunscreen and sunglasses.'Â Professor Feelisch says people at high risk of skin damage are a minority