Dying for a 'base' tan — sunbeds continue to cost lives despite restrictions

Almost ten years after Ireland introduced legislation forbidding sunbed use for those under the age of 18, experts call for a complete ban, writes Mairéad Sheehy

Gill Costello, a former sunbed user who now has terminal cancer. 'We need to change that narrative and tell people it’s okay to be pale.' Picture: Moya Nolan

"I knew sunbeds weren't recommended and could be dangerous, but I never thought about skin cancer and how it could affect me later in life.” 

Gill Costello, from Ballybrack, Dublin has discovered in the most tragic way the very real risks posed by "sun-worshipping" and sunbed use, after the 43-year-old was diagnosed with terminal cancer.