Since I could walk my mother always said, sunblock, sunblock, sunblock and as a mother’s wisdom usually rings true she was right on the bull’s eye.

Every hour someone in the United States dies from melanoma. Exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation from sunlight or indoor tanning beds plays a significant role in the risk of developing this deadly disease, the fastest growing cancer in the United States and worldwide.  It is the most common form of cancer for young adults 25 to 29 year olds. And using tanning beds before age 35 increases the risk of developing melanoma by 75 percent.

David Wright (Mets) and Actress Kristen Bell, Leaders in the battle against melanoma

Though the reality is, it takes more than hard facts and even your mother’s warning to change the perceptions and habits of young women and men, whose celebrity role models are often known to tan before walking the red carpet. It takes a cool factor change with positive influential role models.

Representative Carolyn Maloney, Ellen S. Marmur, M.D., FAAD, Kate White (Editor-in-Chief of Cosmo) and Guest

Cosmopolitan, the world’s largest-selling magazine for young women, has teamed up with the Melanoma Research Foundation (MRF), the largest independent, national organization devoted to melanoma in the United States to do just this, reinstate the ‘cool factor’ of not tanning with education, awareness and positive role models.

Activist Meghan Rothschild and family

Yesterday morning on the 44th floor of the Hearst Towers, Cosmopolitan hosted a luncheon to honor individuals leading the the way in the battle against melanoma, including Kristen Bell (actress), Marisa Miller (supermodel), Meghan Rothschild (activist), David Wright, and Juju Change (News Anchor, Good Morning America) as well as Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Ellen S. Marmur, M.D. FAAD, the chief of dermatologic and cosmetic surgery at the Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Kristen Bell

Tanning alternatives were all the buzz on the red carpet as the celebrities and VIP guests arrived. For fair skin types, like Kristen Bell it’s all about a creamy completion and just staying out of the sun. For those who just look better with sun-kissed glow, like Marisa Miller, sunless tanning is all the rage. And as for Kate White, Editor-in-Chief, it’s all about sun abstinence and playing it smart.

Kate White, Editor-in-Chief Cosmopolitan

You can help. As part of the partnership, Cosmopolitan readers will receive an awareness bracelet with $10 or more donation to the MRF. www.firstgiving.com/cosmopolitan

To learn more about MRF : www.melanoma.org