Abstract: In this investigation the dominant beliefs of students aged 13?14 years about the possible links between increases in skin cancer and global environmental effects are quantified. The results indicate that a high proportion of students were aware that depletion of the ozone layer leads to a higher penetration of ultraviolet (UV) rays, which, in turn, may cause an increase in the incidence of skin cancer. However, a large proportion of these students confused the action of heat rays with that of UV rays; they also thought that raised temperatures (i.e., the greenhouse effect) are culpable. Only 1 in 10 of the students exclusively held the scientifically correct model: that ozone depletion, via higher penetration of UV rays, may lead to skin cancer.