Has Sun Set on Tanning Beds?

Fewer than 50 years ago, little was known about the health effects of smoking.

But in 1962, the Royal College of Physicians warned the public for the first time that smoking could cause lung cancer.

Although it was almost another 10 years before health warnings were seen on all cigarette packets, the announcement was seen as a huge turning point – with many people realising the negative health effects of smoking far outweighed any benefits.

Now, Swansea West MP Sian James believes that such a tipping point has been reached on the issue of sunbeds – following the news that record numbers of people are now suffering from skin cancer.

According to latest statistics, the number of patients treated for malignant melanomas, which claim more than 2,000 lives a year, has risen by 40 per cent in the last six years.

And Cancer Research UK has warned that young people, who use sunbeds, are increasing their risk of life-threatening skin cancer by up to 75 per cent.

Read Mrs James’s argument for a change in the law that will require greater regulation of tanning salons in tomorrow’s Evening Post.

(c) 2008 South Wales Evening Post. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.