There’s been a call for more oversight into the use of sunbeds by young people.
Aontú Cllr Ellen Troy says
“While it is illegal for anybody under the age of 18 to use sunbeds, sadly many are continuing to access them through unscrupulous providers and this needs to be clamped down.
It is not uncommon to see some rogue operators advertising ‘happy hours’, promotions and free time to encourage the use of sunbeds amongst young people.
This is very worrying and it has to be stopped.
The damage sunbeds do to young skin is categoric.
There is no safe limit for exposure to the UV radiation omitted from sunbeds, and worryingly using a sunbed even once increases cancer risks, particularly for young people.
The use of sunbeds has been conclusively determined to be unsafe. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies sunbeds as carcinogenic to humans, placing them in the same risk category as tobacco and asbestos.
Studies indicate that using a sunbed before turning 35 can raise the risk of getting melanoma—the deadliest type of skin cancer—by 75%. In Ireland, skin cancer is both the most prevalent and fastest-growing cancer, with more than 11,000 cases reported annually.
Young skin is very sensitive and the lifelong damage that can be done by the use of sunbeds is absolutely devastating.
We must do all we can to ensure that rogue sunbed providers are prevented from offering them to young people”.
