Cancer risk from sunbeds

By RENEE KIRIONA and AGENCIES

Women who visit tanning salons more than once a month are 55 per cent more likely to develop malignant melanoma, and the risk more than doubles for women in their 20s, says a study of more than 100,000 Scandinavians.

The eight-year study comes just as New Zealand is reviewing its laws on radiation protection - and the possibility of cracking down on sunbed operators.

In its submission on the review, the Cancer Society asked that solarium operators be legally required to warn their clients of the risks of electronic sunbathing.

The society's national promotions manager, Carolyn Watts, said that had come as a result of most solarium operators ignoring a voluntary standard to warn of the risk.

"We see this matter as being just as important as tobacco companies warning smokers about the dangers of their product," she said.

About 8 per cent of the population used a sunbed last summer, according to a society survey.

The outcome of the review of the Radiation Protection Act, and whether the legal requirement should apply to solarium operators, is due this year.

The Scandinavian study, appearing in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, analysed the lifestyle and melanoma risk for women between the ages of 30 and 50.

It found that sunburns and tanning-lamp use during the adolescent and early adult years significantly increased susceptibility to the skin cancer.

Melanoma risk is highest among fair-skinned people in New Zealand, Australia, Europe and North America.

The researchers found the rates of the skin cancer had tripled in Norway and Sweden since the 1950s.

They said the risk of melanoma was about twice as high for blondes.

In the study, an international group of researchers analysed data from the Women's Lifestyle and Health Cohort Study in Norway and Sweden. The study enrolled 106,379 women in 1991 and 1992.

They all completed extensive questionnaires about their personal exposures to sunlight and to artificial tanning.

In 1999, the researchers rechecked the women's health.

They found 187 cases of melanoma diagnosed among the study group during the eight-year follow-up period.