Tanning salons ought to display graphic warning signs akin to the alarming images found on cigarette packets. This measure is essential to alert customers to the perils associated with sunbed usage and the curse of sunbeds causing melanoma.
The decision has the potential to preserve lives, leading to an appeal to the Government to revise existing laws and enforce the compulsory display of warning signs.
In countries like Australia and Brazil, they have banned sunbeds to protect their citizens. However, here in the UK, we turn a blind eye to the potential dangers, failing to adequately warn individuals about the risks they face.
“Sunbed use is costing lives unnecessarily, and the compulsory placement of warning signs seems like a small yet crucial step. It will unquestionably save lives, without a doubt.”
The call comes 13 years after the introduction of the Sunbed Regulation Act, which prohibited individuals under the age of 18 from using them.
Social media is fuelling a rise in tanning bed usage among younger people. There is a claim there has been more than 200 million searches for the term #sunbed on the video platform TikTok in the last 12 months.
In January, Kim Kardashian, a reality star, shared a tour of her Skin by Kim offices, showcasing a sunbed. She explained that she uses tanning beds to alleviate her psoriasis.
According to Cancer Research UK, around 16,700 cases of melanoma, a potentially metastatic form of skin cancer, are diagnosed in the UK every year. However, projections suggest that this number could rise to 26,500 by 2038-2040. An estimated 85% of these cases are attributed to excessive exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation.
According to the NHS, sunbeds can emit larger doses of UV rays than the midday tropical sun. The health service also warned that frequent exposure to UV rays under the age of 25 leads to a greater risk of developing skin cancer in later life, along with sunburn in childhood.
A former sunbed user that I know aged 44, from Liverpool, was diagnosed with the disease in 2019, at the age of 39. She had started using sunbeds in 1996 when she was 16 – but not “all the time”.
She moved away to university, in about 1998. and would occasionally use them at university too – they tanning salons were all over the place and very accessible. There were no warning signs as to the dangers of overuse.
My friend stopped using sunbeds altogether when she moved to Asia in 2008, although she had regular skin checks due to having a lot of moles. She had two removed in 2019 – the results came back as Melanoma
The cancer had spread to her lymph nodes. After having them removed, she underwent immunotherapy, which helps the immune system recognise and fight cancer cells.
Treatment finished in 2021 and now has regular scans as all skin cancer patients do as a matter of course.
An interim measure of the “warning signs” is urgently needed until we can finally get sunbeds banned – that’s the endgame. Other countries have already boldly taken this crucial step.The UK Government MUST wake up and recognise the financial and human resource strain that the NHS endures as a direct consequence of this absurd “trend”!
Our skin, our body’s largest organ, bears the brunt of UV rays when we tan. While moderate sunlight exposure is beneficial, consistent use of sunbeds can be fatal. That’s why I wholeheartedly support the Melanoma Law and advocate for an overhaul of the current sunbed regulations.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said:
“We recognise the risks of UV radiation from sunbeds in causing skin cancer, particularly among young people.
“That’s why the Sunbeds Act prohibits people under 18 from using them, and we keep the Act under constant review to ensure it remains fit for purpose.
“We encourage anyone thinking of using a sunbed to consider the risks first.”
