Heat Is On To Protect Child Sunbed Users, UK

Main Category: Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 28 Apr 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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Around 170,000 under-16s in Great Britain, including children as young as eight, are putting their health at risk by using sunbeds, reveals a survey by Which?*

The consumer organisation found that around 3 per cent of under-16s have used a sunbed. Accepted health advice in the UK is that under-16s and fair-skinned adults with 'type one' skin that burns easily should never use a sunbed.**

Although the industry trade body, The Sunbed Association (TSA), instructs members to ban under-16s and to advise people with type one skin to avoid sunbeds, its membership covers only a quarter of the UK's 6,000 salons, and other salons are not regulated at all.

Which? sent undercover researchers to ten salons, including one TSA member, and found that many staff at salons failed to warn about the health risks:

- All ten said someone with very pale (type one) skin could use a sunbed, which is dangerous advice - Just three gave a verbal warning about the risks***
- Two salons that failed to warn of health risks were in council-run leisure centres. The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health has a long-running campaign to ban sunbeds from these centres.

Research from Cancer Research UK shows that sunbed use significantly increases the risk of life-threatening skin cancer,**** and the charity is calling for legislation to prevent under-18s using sunbeds. A government review on possible regulation of the industry is underway, and a proposed public health bill in Scotland includes measures to improve staff training.

Neil Fowler, Editor, Which?, says:

"Despite the dangers of sunbed use, a shocking number of children told us that they've used one. Without regulation, the industry needs to be responsible about protecting those most at risk, but staff at the salons we visited failed to give adequate health warnings.

"We're pleased to see that the government is looking at this issue. And in the meantime if you can't live without a tan, consider faking it with a bottle rather than putting your health at risk." *****

Notes

Which? is the leading independent consumer champion in the UK, providing up to date, impartial, expert information on thousands of products and services to help make individuals as powerful as the organisations they have to deal with in their daily lives. To find out more visit www.which.co.uk

The full article "The heat is on" appears in the May 2008 issue of Which? magazine. For further information, the full article, a copy of the magazine or an interview, please contact Nicola Frame.

* In February 2008, 1,001 children aged eight to 15 completed a Which? online survey on sunbed use. The survey found that 3 per cent of children in this age group had used a sunbed - equivalent of around 170,000 children in Great Britain.

** In addition, the World Health Organisation recommends that under-18s shouldn't use sunbeds and those with type one skin (fair or red hair, lots of freckles and burns easily) are advised to avoid use. Which? interviewed 47 16- to 17-year-olds online, and found that 13 per cent had used a sunbed.

*** Which? visited ten salons in Cheshire, Essex, Hertfordshire and Lancashire. Some had posters with health warnings or asked customers to fill out a questionnaire to assess their skin type.

**** Research undertaken by Cancer Research UK suggests that people who start using sunbeds under the age of 35 increase their risk of malignant melanoma by 75 per cent.

***** The results of a self-tan user trial will be published in the June issue of Which?

http://www.which.co.uk