Cancer Society calls for sunbed ban
More than 250,000 Irish people have admitted to using sunbeds. The ICS and the Environmental Health Officers Association (EHOA) said the Government should introduce tighter legislation restricting their use immediately.
Commenting on the results of consumer research conducted in April, ICS health promotion officer Anita Murphy said they advocated that, ultimately, sunbeds should be banned.
“They are completely unsafe and represent significant danger to the consumer,” said Ms Murphy.
She warned that sunbeds cause premature ageing of the skin resulting in loss of elasticity, sagging, wrinkling, freckling, yellowish discolouration and brown patches.
She said the latest findings, which show that 15% of venues displayed no guidelines for sunbed use, were of grave concern to the ICS.
In the absence of legislation, both the ICS and the EHOA recommend that no one under the age of 18 years should use a sunbed. They also said a trained supervisor should be available at all times when the sunbed is in operation.
Ms Murphy said the legislation should also focus on banning tanning facilities that are unsupervised and uncontrolled.
She said a sunbed tan is induced through concentrated exposure to high levels of UV light, and all forms of UV light contribute to skin cancer.
The ICS say their latest research shows those who continue to use sunbeds are at an increased risk of developing skin cancer.
The research, conducted in April also reveals that 3% of sunbed users use them once per week; 5% use them twice per month and 8% about once a month.
The majority of users are in the 15-34 age group but 6% of users admit to using sunbeds for the first time before 15 years of age.
