Sunbeds Not Cool Says Cancer Society
It’s a cold hard fact: sunbeds are not cool.
But the message is taking a long time to get through – especially to teenage girls.
With summer holidays around the corner, the Health Sponsorship Council (HSC) and Cancer Society SunSmart partnership is
reminding people that it’s not just the sun that that can cause damage leading to skin cancers – not to mention
prematurely ageing and disfiguring the skin.
It’s also important people don’t think that they are protecting themselves from damage by getting a “base tan” in a
solarium before going outdoors.
“We know from research that many young women think that getting a sunbed tan is safer than getting skin damage from the
sun. They’re certainly not currently being told any different as the results of a recent Consumers Institute survey
demonstrate,”
says SunSmart spokesperson Wendy Billingsley.
The Consumers Institute investigated the practices of sunbed operators in New Zealand and the results horrified, but did
not surprise the Cancer Society.
Of 30 sunbed outlets visited by the Institute, only two met all the requirements specified in the only solarium Standard
available in this country – a voluntary one.
“It is especially important that young women with fair skin are made aware of the risks of UV radiation used in sunbeds
because those who are at the highest risk of skin cancer later in life are people who have fair skin which always burns
and never tans, and those under the age of 15 who have received large doses of ultraviolet radiation, Ms Billingsley
says.
The Cancer Society has renewed calls for a compulsory Standard.
“As Consumer points out, there has been a significant increase in use of sunbeds since 2000 – from five to eight
percent with about 40 percent of these sunbed bed users visiting a clinic at least once a fortnight.
“And these are just the kinds of people who could be helped by a compulsory Standard to warn them of the risks,” Ms
Billingsley says.
“We recommend those under the age of 15 be banned from solariums and those aged 15 to 18 use a solarium only with
parental consent.”
Ms Billingsley says if young women can’t be persuaded by the evidence that the UV-A and UV-B rays emitted by sunbeds can
potentially cause skin cancers, the Cancer Society and HSC are just as happy if they stop using them because of the
ageing effect on their skin.
“Apart from the risk of skin cancer, over-exposure to UV radiation makes the skin dry, wrinkled and less elastic. It may
also cause irregular pigmentation. Once this has happened, no fancy creams can reverse the process. The attraction of a
tan pales somewhat when you consider that more and more young people in their teens and 20s are developing leathery,
lined skin before their time.”
Studies have shown pre-cancerous conditions have also been found in the sunlight-protected but solarium-exposed skin of
fair-skinned users after just two to three years of regular solarium use, Ms Billingsley says.
The risk to eyes highlighted by the Consumer research is also endorsed by Ms Billingsley.
She says acute effects of UV radiation on the eye include photokeratitis (inflammation of the cornea and the iris), and
photoconjunctivitis (an inflammation of the conjunctiva). Long-term effects may include the development of cataracts,
pterygium (white or creamy opaque growth attached to the cornea), and squamous cell cancer of the conjunctiva.
Ms Billingsley emphasises, no solarium can give a safe tan.
“If people feel they must have a tanned skin to look good, there are plenty of fake tan products that give a realistic
look without the risks of skin cancer. We tell sun-bathers to fake it, not bake it. Perhaps for sunbedders it could be:
Sham for a safer glam.”