Ban on sunbeds ‘would slash the skin cancer rate’

BANNING commercial sunbeds would prevent thousands of cancer deaths and save the NHS millions of pounds, a study suggests.

Researchers analysed the impact of such a ban on the 618,000 18-year-olds living in England in 2019.

They found it would result in 1,206 fewer cases of melanoma – the most serious skin cancer – and 207 fewer melanoma deaths over their lifetimes. This suggests thousands of deaths would be prevented across all age groups. It would also see 3,987 fewer cases of other more common skin cancers.

The experts say the ban, combined with a campaign warning of the dangers of indoor tanning, would save the NHS £700,000 in direct treatment costs among this age group alone. It would also have a projected net benefit of £10.5million after accounting for their extended lifespans, greater quality of life and the cost of implementation, with a 99 per cent likelihood it would be cost effective.

The benefits would be ‘far greater’ still when adding people who started to use sunbeds over the age of 18.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer declared in 2009 that the ultraviolet radiation from commercial tanning devices causes cancer. Yet it remains legal for anyone over the age of 18 to use them in the UK – an estimated 62,000 children are also believed to use them.

Sunbed use is especially high in English cities with greater social deprivation, and doctors believe their popularity partly explains the unusually high rates of melanoma seen among young women in the North West.

Professor Paul Lorigan, of the Christie NHS Foundation Trust and part of the research team at the University of Manchester, said sunbed users ‘increase their risk of melanoma by almost 60 per cent’. He added: ‘We show quite conclusively that banning indoor tanning supported by a public health campaign would be an efficient use of healthcare resources to reduce melanoma.’

Fellow researcher Professor Adele Green said: ‘Policy makers require robust economic evidence to inform decisions about a ban of such devices... we feel we have succeeded in providing that.’

Susanna Daniels, chief executive of the charity Melanoma Focus, said 86 per cent of melanoma cases are preventable. She added: ‘We strongly advise the avoidance of sunbeds.’

The findings are published in the British Journal of Dermatology.

‘62,000 children are using them’