Dangers of sunbed use a ‘priority topic’ for incoming CMO

Interim Chief Medical Officer Professor Mary Horgan said as she has just started her work as CMO, she could not yet comment yet on whether a ban on sunbeds is appropriate. Picture: Bryan Brophy/1IMAGE 

The interim chief medical officer (CMO) said the dangers of sunbeds is among the priority topics she is set to consider as she takes up her role this week.

This follows Tánaiste Micheál Martin last month backing a call to ban sunbeds due to links with melanoma skin cancer.

Professor Mary Horgan, who also an infectious diseases consultant at Cork University Hospital , said as she has just started her work as CMO, she could not yet comment yet on whether a ban is appropriate.

“It’s a concern, we have heard the dermatologists in the county allude to this.”

She said: “We know that it’s linked with different kinds of cancers, everything from melanoma and also basal cell carcinomas.”

During the launch of a taskforce report on pharmacies, she pledged to look into this further.

“I haven’t sat down to see what the minister and department’s priorities are but there are several of them, one of which will be sunbeds and in general overexposure to UV light.

“It really will be about being evidence-based, what they’re doing in other jurisdictions and what the safest approach is to their use or if they need to be banned.”

Health Minister Stephen Donnelly was also asked about a potential ban during the same event, but referred the query to Prof Horgan.

A number of top dermatologists have raised concerns around sunbed use in recent months.

This follows a startling study by University College Cork and the South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital in Cork on the effects sunbed use.

They found that during 2020, almost 11% of the population used sunbeds on average eight times a year.

They identified a disconnect between what people said they understood about risks compared to actions. This related to getting sunburnt while in the sun and also using sunbeds.

The issue is understood to be complex, with potential for any ban on commercial premises to risk driving people to buy their own sunbeds for private use.

Tanning salons are already banned from offering sunbeds to under-18s and are inspected by the HSE against national safety guidelines.

Last year inspectors identified 206 breaches of all sunbed laws including of the age restriction as well as not offering googles to protect clients’ eyes and not sharing information on risks.

Skin cancer is the fastest growing cancer in Ireland, the Irish Cancer Society has said.

Over 13,000 new cases are diagnosed each year including over 12,000 non-melanoma skin cancers and 1,100 melanomas.

“Using a sunbed isn’t safer than sun tanning. It won’t protect you from sunburn or damage to your skin from sunbathing.

“It isn’t a great way to get vitamin D,” it cautioned.

Mr Martin said in July of sunbeds that he would ban them as “they are carcinogenic”.

Referring back to the smoking ban, which he brought in while previously health minister, he added: “When the report came back and said passive smoking was a carcinogen, it causes cancer, then the action had to be very clear in response.”