Tougher stance urged on sunbed use

Tougher actions are needed to reduce the use of sunbeds, researchers said after a study found that the risk of skin cancer increases by 20% for people who use the tanning devices.

If the number of teenagers and young adults using sunbeds does not decrease, “more radical actions” should be considered including a ban on sunbed salons, researchers from the International Prevention Research Institute in Lyon, France, have said.

They made the comments after examining data from 27 studies conducted between 1981 and 2012 which concerned 11,428 cases of melanoma.

The risk of cutaneous melanoma increased by 20% for those who ever used an indoor tanning device with ultraviolet light, it was found. The risk of melanoma doubled when people started using sunbeds before the age of 35.

Across Europe, the use of sunbeds leads to almost 3,500 cases of skin cancer and 800 deaths every year, the authors estimated.

The number of deaths which occur due to sunbed use could increase over the next 20 years, the authors said.

The researchers called for tanning under the age of 18 to be restricted, and unsupervised tanning salons to be banned— laws that are already in place in Australia and several European countries.