Cancer Society backs call for curbs on sunbeds

The Cancer Society backs a call by the World Health Organisation for a ban on 18-year-olds and under from using sunbeds.

The WHO says young people who get sunburned from exposure to ultraviolet rays will have a greater risk of developing melanoma later in life.

Studies also showed a direct link between the use of sunbeds and cancer.

The Cancer Society said yesterday that no person under 18 should use a sunbed.

"In fact, we'd like to see regulations introduced to control the use of sunbeds all together," said the society's SunSmart spokeswoman, Wendy Billingsley.

The only standards applying to sunbeds in New Zealand were voluntary.

"Growth in the use of sunbeds, combined with the desire and fashion to have a tan, are considered to be the prime reasons behind the fast growth in [skin] cancers," she said.

Highest rates were found mainly in nations where people were fairest-skinned and where the sun-tanning culture was strongest, including Australia and New Zealand.

In New Zealand in 2000, 253 people died from melanoma and rates were rising as a result of sun-worshipping practices of the 1970s.

Family physician Chris Boberg said excessive UV exposure could reduce the effectiveness of the immune system, possibly leading to a greater risk of infectious diseases.

Some sunbeds had the capacity to emit levels of ultraviolet radiation many times stronger than the midday summer sun.

Dr Boberg said only in rare and specific cases should medically supervised sunbed use be considered - such as for the treatment of dermatitis and psoriasis skin conditions.

Ms Billingsley said France and California had banned people under 18 from using sunbeds.

- NZPA