Sunbed parlours must be licensed to protect the young, says CIEH

Subject: CIEH

65 percent of sunbed salons have either no staff at all or staff were not on hand to provide guidance and prevent the underage from using facilities, a survey by a leading environmental health organisation has found.

The findings from the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) come in the wake of a series of incidents where children as young as 13 have been severely burnt by inappropriate sunbed use.

Director of CIEH Wales Julie Barratt said:

“The research highlights both the lack of control exhibited by operators over their facilities and the worrying lack of knowledge that they have both about the equipment and its use.

“It is clear both from the research and from the incident that occurred in south Wales last week involving a 14 year old that unmanned facilities cannot be properly controlled and hence we say they should be banned.”

To tackle the prevalence of skin cancer the CIEH is also calling for:

• Operators to be properly trained so that they can provide appropriate advice to potential users

• Under 18s to be banned from using such equipment

• For advice on the potential health impact of exposure to UV to be made available at all tanning premises

“Where such sites exist, they must be properly regulated,” Ms Barratt added.

The survey analysed 23 premises and 65 sunbeds across south Wales. In 16 of the 23 premises there was no mention of the number of sessions recommended/allowed according to skin type.

Results from the survey will be published at the CIEH Public Health: Initiating Outcomes conference being held in Cardiff on Wednesday 25 and Thursday 26 February. For further information please visit: http://www.cieh-cymruwales.org/calendar/initiating_outcomes.html.

Skin cancer is an almost entirely preventable disease, but it is becoming more prevalent, with some 65,000 new cases diagnosed a year – double the number in the early 1980s. 2,000 people now die each year in the UK from skin cancer.

A study published in the European Journal of Cancer recently revealed that the British Isles has the highest rates of skin cancer in children and adolescents in Europe.