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SUNBEDS – SHOULD THEY BE BANNED?

The following excerpts are from an article which appeared in South Wales Evening Post on Thursday 14^th May 2009: 

TURNING HEAT ON SUNBEDS: Campaigners begin the call to ban use of sunbeds for anyone below age of 18

It has long been known for years that too much sun – whether on sunbeds or sitting on a deckchair in the back garden – can lead to problems. But people are still ignoring the warnings in pursuit of the perfect tan.

Even young children are getting caught up in the trend. Once recent Which? Survey showed three per cent of youngsters aged eight to 15 has used a sunbed.

Last month, Port Talbot 10-year old Kelly Thompson suffered burns to more than 70 per cent of her body after spending 16 minutes on a subbed at a tanning salon. Her mum, Sharon Hannaford had given Kelly pocket money to go to a funfair with her older cousin. But after finding it closed, they went to the tanning centre. It had signs explaining children under 16 should not use the sunbeds.

But Kelly put £8 into the machine, which gave her 16 minutes on the sunbed. Sharon says: “She was under-age, but there was no staff there to stop her using it and no-one to give advice on using these potentially dangerous machines.” 

By the time Kelly got home she was in pain, and her family called an ambulance. Medics who treated her at Morriston Hospital say if she had stayed on for just two minutes more, she would have had to endure painful skin grafts. She has now been told to stay out of the sun for up to 10 years because her damage skin is more susceptible to cancer. 

Her mum says she wants to see a ban on unsupervised, coin-operated sunbeds. Sharon, a mum-of-four, added: “These sunbeds are very high-powered. There is nobody to prevent a youngster going in and doing this. I want them shut down.” 

A lobbying group led by Swansea East MP Sian James agrees.

It also wants a ban on unmanned booths and to make it illegal for under-18s to use the beds under any circumstances.

Three million people regularly use sunbeds – despite concerns about the health risks, especially among the young. The number of cases of the most deadly skin cancer, malignant melanoma, have risen to almost 9,000 a year – 1,800 of whom die – and it is now the most common cancer in Britons aged 15 to 34.

Experts say a 20-minute visit to a booth is equivalent to a day at the beach, which doctors say can cause lasting skin damage.  

Nina Goad, of the British Association of Dermatologists, says Kelly Thompson’s case illustrates why compulsory regulation of the sunbed industry is long overdue. She adds: “How many more horrific cases of children being burned on unmanned sunbeds will it take before we see a crackdown?” 

Bill Dickson, of the Welsh Centre for Burns and Plastic Surgery in Swansea, where Kelly was treated, also says it is dangerous to use sunbeds too much. He added: “One of the worries is the exposure to ultra-violet rays and the links to malignant melanoma. There could be a real danger of long-term scarring.” 

And Julie Barratt, of the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, insists allowing the industry to self-regulate is not working. Unmanned tanning salons are a particular problem as they are subject to no controls at all. “The only way we can protect young people from this sort of self-inflicted damage is to control the use of sun-tanning facilities by legislation.”  

What are the health risks? 

One in five people say they plan to use a sunbed this year. So what are the risks? 

• Older sunbeds emit UVA radiation, while newer beds combine UVA and B. While UVB radiation is more likely to burn your skin, UVA is more likely to cause malignant melanomas.
• Skin cancer is the most common cancer among those aged 15 to 34. The number affected in the UK has quadrupled since the 1970s to around the 9,000 mark.
• Medical evidence suggests that exposure to UVA and UVB rays harbours a risk of sunburn, premature ageing and skin cancer.
• If you are fair-skinned, prolonged exposure to the sun or sunbeds makes you 10 times more likely to develop skin cancer. If you are dark-skinned, you are around four to five times more likely.
• There are no “safe limits” to using sunbeds, but the British Association of Dermatologists suggests no more than 20 30-minute sessions a year.
• Take note of the time limits suggested by your tanning centre, which should assess your skin type before allowing you to use a sunbed. Never exceed the recommended time.
• Protective goggles must always be worn; otherwise there is a risk of cataracts later in life.
• Many sunbed centres ask you not to use protective creams, but they can offer some protection. You are discouraged from using creams because they “grease up” the sunbed.

The British Association of Dermatologists’ consensus on sunbeds:

• The British Association of Dermatologists would like the government to restrict sunbed use for under-18s.
• They are also calling for a ban on coin-operated, unmanned sunbeds.
• Many salons do not provide adequate information on the health risks either, but instead advertise somewhat spurious health ‘benefits’. They would therefore also like to see better point of sale information supplied, outlining the health risks so people can make a more informed decision regarding sunbed use.
• Many people do not understand the risks that these machines pose, especially when they can be found at sports centres and places that suggest they are ‘healthy’, which sends conflicting messages. BAD would therefore like to see the removal of sunbeds from all health facilities such as gyms and sports centres.

A recent study 

A study published in the August 2007 British Journal of Dermatology uncovered worrying new findings about sunbeds, including a rise in ‘high power’ sunbeds and a lack of knowledge by users of the cancer risks involved.

A survey of sunbed users showed that a staggering 15 percent do not believe that sunbeds carry a health risk. Of those who did feel sunbeds carry risks, only 56 percent mentioned cancer.

Issues of concern are as follows:

• Half of respondents started using sunbeds early in life, between the ages of 16 and 24
• Almost a quarter have been using sunbeds for more than 10 years
• Over a third have had between 29 and 40 sunbed sessions in the past year, and over a quarter more than 50 sessions
• A quarter never use goggles to protect their eyes• Only seven percent had actually been advised to wear goggles

British Photodermatology Group Consensus View on Sunbeds for Cosmetic Tanning

In 1990 the BPG published a summary of the adverse effects of cosmetic tanning with UVA sunbeds and recommended that people should not use them. They listed a number of short and long term health risks associated with their use.

Many sunbed users believe that skin damage is avoided provided their skin does not burn. Unfortunately this is not true since damage can be shown to occur with UVA exposures below those necessary for burning. The short-term damaging effects of excessive exposure to sunbeds include:

• Sunburnt skin, which becomes painful, red and may blister and peel
• Skin dryness and itching
• Bumpy itchy skin
• Possible rash if certain medicines are taken or lotions are applied to the skin
• Eye irritation or conjunctivitis, if suitable goggles are not worn
• There may also be long-term health effects, including:
• Premature ageing of the skin, which will then look coarse, leathery and wrinkled
• Skin cancer - the more exposures, the greater the risk
• Increased risk of cataracts (clouding of the lens of the eye) later in life, if suitable goggles are not worn

The most serious problem that UVA sunbeds may cause is induction of malignant melanoma. Since the BPG first published its report on sunbeds, there has been accumulating epidemiological and biological evidence to support the belief that UVA radiation may be important in this potentially fatal disease. Based on this evidence, it is the view of the PBG that sunbed use for cosmetic tanning should be strongly discouraged. The Group have recommended education and information to further this aim rather than prohibition.

Please let us know your views on the use of sunbeds.

Do you believe that their use should be regulated to a greater extent?

Do you have any stories relating to the use of sunbeds that you would like to share with us?