The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Sunbed ‘warning sign’ plea
Tanning salons should have graphic warning signs similar to those found on cigarette packets in order to warn customers about the dangers of using sunbeds, a charity has said.
The move could save lives, according to Skin Cancer UK, which is calling on the government to update legislation and make warning signs mandatory.
The charity’s chief executive, Gill Nuttall, said sunbeds are banned in “many countries”, including Australia and Brazil, “yet in the UK we don’t even warn people about the potential danger”.
“We’re asking for the government to update its legislation and put warning signs into tanning salons – much like we have for cigarettes or alcohol,” she added. “Sunbed use kills people needlessly, so the mandatory installation of warning signs feels like a small, but important change. It will save lives, simple as that.”
The call comes 13 years after the introduction of the Sunbed Regulation Act, which banned under 18s from using them.
However, Skin Cancer UK has raised concerns social media is fuelling a rise in tanning bed usage among younger people.
It claims there has been more than 200 million searches for the term #sunbed on the video platform TikTok in the last 12 months.
In January, reality star Kim Kardashian posted a tour of her Skkn by Kim offices, which included a sunbed.
She defended her use of tanning beds however, saying they help with her psoriasis. Cancer Research UK estimates there are about 16,700 cases of melanoma, a type of skin cancer that can spread to other parts of the body, in the UK every year.
However, predictions suggest this could rise to 26,500 by 2038-40. About 85% of cases are caused by exposure to too much ultraviolet radiation.
Ross Robinson, 40, from Essex, who noticed a lesion on his back after extensive sunbed use, is calling for a change in the law.
He described the rise in sunbed use as “alarming and of deep concern”.
“We need to keep having this discussion so that more information is available, and people can be educated on how sunbed use dramatically increases the risk of developing melanoma,” Mr Robinson said.