Press Release
Dying for a tan
18 April 2008
New research by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) has revealed startling evidence that young teenagers are being allowed to risk skin cancer by using and abusing tanning salons.
The report found that more than half of the tanning salons in south Wales, both staffed and unmanned, will allow children under 16 to use a sunbed. And a staggering 88 percent of premises would allow a customer to have a tanning session every day, despite the risk of skin cancer.
Director of CIEH Wales Julie Barratt said:
“The CIEH’s position is that unmanned sun salons should be banned.
“As our research shows control over and advice to users of manned facilities is sketchy, but there is no control at all over use of unmanned facilities.
“Under 16’s can use them as often as they like. We know that overexposure to UV radiation from both sunlight and from artificial sources such as sunbeds puts people at risk of developing skin cancer later in life. By definition unmanned sun tanning facilities are unregulated and as our research shows are open to abuse.”
The CIEH is calling for unmanned salons and coin operated machines to be banned, for other premises to be effectively regulated and for sunbed use to be restricted to over 18’s.
The research was conducted across south Wales using mystery shoppers, who surveyed eight local authority areas and found that adults as well as children could easily put their health at risk by overdosing on sunbeds.
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