Irish Cancer Society welcomes publication of Sunbeds Bill but wants it to go further

The Irish Cancer Society has welcomed Government approval of the Sunbeds Bill - but expressed concerns that the Bill does not go far enough.

The Bill will prohibit operators of sunbed premises from allowing anyone under 18 years of age to use a sunbed on their premises and will prohibit the use of sunbeds in unsupervised premises. It will also require sunbed operators to make users fully aware of the risks involved and require warning signs to be in place in all sunbed operators. However, the Bill does not prohibit people with Type 1 and Type 2 skin- the fairest skin types from using sunbeds as is the case in Australia.

Kathleen O’Meara, Head of Advocacy & Communications with the Irish Cancer Society said, “The Irish Cancer Society has been campaigning for regulation of sunbed use for many years. Every year up to 28,000 young people in Ireland put their lives and health at risk by using sunbeds. Sunbed use is as carcinogenic as smoking and we need to be protect young people from this dangerous practice. We welcome the provisions outlined in the Sunbeds Bill but believe that the Bill should also prohibit people with the Type 1 and Type 2 skin from using sunbeds. Most people in Ireland have Type 1 or Type 2 skin.”

There is a strong link between sunbed use and skin cancer. In 2009, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) placed sunbeds in the highest cancer risk category and listed them as being as carcinogenic as tobacco and plutonium. Sunbed lamps are becoming more powerful and the estimated cancer risk from sunbeds has trebled in the last ten years. The average risk from sunbed use is now more than double that of spending the same amount of time in the midday Mediterranean sun without sun cream. 

Skin cancer is the most common cause of cancer in Ireland. There were 9,450 cases of skin cancer in Ireland in 2010, and of these 896 cases were melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer. Recent research shows men are more likely to die from melanoma than women Young people are particularly at risk of melanoma as there is a 75% increased risk of developing melanoma when sunbed use begins before the age of 30 . Sunbed use among young people is a big problem in Ireland. Research conducted by the Society found that approximately 28,000 young people under the age of 25 are using sunbeds in Ireland each year. Two thirds of sunbed users began using sunbeds when they were under 25.

The majority of cases of skin cancer are caused by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays from the sun or from sunbeds and as such can be prevented but worryingly, the incidence of melanoma in Ireland has increased by 138% in Ireland from 1994 to 2010. There were 148 deaths from skin cancer in 2012.

Kathleen O'Meara, the Society's Head of Advocacy and Communications, spoke to RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland about the legislation: