KEY POINTS:
For 20 or so years there was no more effective public health campaign than that warning of the dangers of the sun. Most youngsters took heed and the wearing of hats and application of sunblock lotion became standard practice. Over the past few years, however, the message seems to have lost some of its effectiveness. One of the results has been the increased use of sunbeds, especially by teenage girls, for some of whom the acquisition of a tan has become an obsession. That trend is continuing, notwithstanding increasing evidence that the practice is extremely dangerous.
The latest study, by the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, found that using a solarium to gain a tan increased the risk of developing skin cancer by 98 per cent for those under 35. Even one visit heightened the chance of developing a melanoma by 22 per cent. This delivered a similar message to many other pieces of research, which have persuaded both the World Health Organisation and the European Union to rule that those under 18 should be banned from tanning parlours to protect them from overexposure. Members of the British Association of Dermatologists, who see first-hand the damage caused by ultraviolet rays, want to go even further. A poll found that three-quarters of them wanted tanning booths banned outright.
In this country, the Cancer Society has for many years taken only a slightly less stringent line. It has called for a ban on those under 18 using solariums, and regulations to control the use of sunbeds altogether. It is not an approach the Government seems in any great hurry to follow, despite the fact that countries such as Australia and Britain are moving that way. The New Zealand industry, therefore, continues to operate under a voluntary standard that, among other things, imposes an age restriction, prohibits those with fair skin from using sunbeds, restricts operators from advertising their tanning facilities as safe or healthy, and obliges them to provide safety information.
Self-policing is viable only if such standards are followed, creating a truly controlled environment. Ignoring them invites censure and, ultimately, regulation. The sunbed industry has shown little inclination to avoid that fate. Of 30 outlets visited by the Consumers Institute in 2005, only two met all the requirements specified in the voluntary standard. Clearly, teenagers with very fair skin, who should get nowhere near sunbeds, are being allowed to spend excessive time on them, getting burned from exposure to ultraviolet and greatly increasing the risk of developing melanomas later in life.
Every year, about 300 New Zealanders die from skin cancer, and there are up to 1800 cases of melanoma, the most deadly form of the cancer. Research confirms that sunbeds play a role in this. In the case of adults, the appropriate response would be to ensure they are fully aware of the risk they take when using a sunbed. Operators should, by regulation, be required to display prominently information such as the fact that solariums can emit ultraviolet radiation up to five times as strong as the midday summer sun.
The time must also have come to impose a legal ban on those under 18 using sunbeds. This would address the unhealthy, peer-pressured obsession of some youngsters, as well as their limited ability to make a reasoned judgment at that age. At the very least, the limit should be placed at 16 and parental permission required for those aged 17 and 18, as is proposed by Australian regulators. Clearly, it is also time to revitalise the sun safety campaign. It was effective once in making people of all ages aware of the risk. It can be again.
