Killer sunbeds - Vanity not worth risk

ANYONE who has noticed someone who has spent too long on a sunbed will not be surprised that sunbeds can increase the chances of developing skin tumours by 75% and pose the “highest” risk of cancer.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer said yesterday that ultraviolet-emitting tanning devices pose a far greater threat than has been imagined. Researchers found the risk was greatest to children and young adults.

So, not only will you look like last night’s chicken vindaloo, you will be running the risk of provoking a cancer because you want to look as if you spent a few weeks away from monsoon-lashed Ireland.

Consenting adults are, of course, free to fry themselves if they feel it will make them more attractive, but surely there should be some sort of constraint placed on the use of sunbeds by children and young adults.

Vanity is not, after all, reason enough to risk cancer.