Ashington mum calls for complete sunbed ban
Jun 20 2009 by Paul Loraine, The Journal
She said: “Sunbeds can be dangerous. We must ensure that people who use them do so safely. If necessary we will look at new laws to protect young people.”
As well as burning, radiation from sunbeds is known to damage DNA, leading to premature ageing and an increased chance of developing skin cancer.
Without accurate records the harm caused by sunbeds is difficult to gauge. But a rough estimate suggests that each year the machines cause 370 cases of malignant skin cancer and 100 deaths in the UK.
Comare said the true number of cancer casualties was likely to be higher because these figures were based on 2004 data.
Around a quarter of adults in the UK are believed to have used a sunbed, and 6% of young people aged 11 to 17.
A UK-wide survey carried out in the mid-1980s found that 19% of commercial sunbed users were young people under the age of 20. A small proportion, 0.6%, were 15 or younger.
Current professional guidelines state that under-16s should not use a sunbed.
Professor Alex Elliott, chairman of Comare, said at a news briefing in London yesterday: “We believe that sunbeds are causing upwards of 100 deaths per year in the UK.
“Plus you have the consequences of other types of non-malignant cancer which, although they don’t kill you, can cause moles and disfigurement that need plastic surgery. The cost to the NHS is anywhere upwards of £200m a year, so this is a fairly major problem.”
The Cancer Research Campaign charity said legislation on sunbeds would be a “huge step in the right direction“.
Meanwhile, Kathy Banks, chief executive of the Sunbed Association (TSA) said a complete ban would be “nonsense” and argued that 16-year-olds are responsible enough to use sunbeds.
She said: “TSA is not aware of any medical or scientific evidence to support the call for non-use by under-18s. TSA understands this has come purely from a position of choice and responsibility as 18 is the general age of consent in the UK.
“If you are old enough to get married or join the army, it seems wrong to say you are not old enough to decide if you want to use a sunbed.”
