Salons flout rules on sunbed use, survey finds

Laws banning under-18s from using sunbeds appear to be working, but salons are still using illegal discounted deals to encourage sunbed use.

An undercover survey carried out in the Dublin region by the Irish Cancer Society found that all five salons it visited told the fair-skinned 17-year-old girl she could not use a sunbed because of the under-18 ban brought in last July.

In four out of the five salons the fair-skinned girl was advised that in order to build up a tan she would need to use a sunbed for 4-5 minutes three times a week. One salon advised the girl that darker skin types could tan for a maximum of 15 minutes per session and encouraged the use of a tan accelerator.