Ban sunbeds for teens - say experts

Main Category: Cancer / Oncology
Article Date: 18 Jan 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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Teenagers should be banned from using sunbeds because of soaring cancer rates, a leading medical expert warned.

Professor Antony Young, deputy head of the Division of Skin Sciences at King's College London (USA), voiced his concern as it was revealed 125 Scots are diagnosed with skin cancer each week.

A study tobe published tomorrow confirms the link between sunbed use and malignant melanoma, the most deadly form of the disease.

Prof Young said: ''There is a strong case for legislation to prohibit the use of tanning devices by people under 18. An all-over tan is fashion-able and large numbers of people, especially young women, achieve this by using sunbeds.''

Fair-skinned Scots are particularly vulnerable to the dangers, with a rate of incidence higher than Australia.

Despite the warnings, Glasgow is the UK's sunbed capital with 137 salons twice as many as London.

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