SUNBED USERS have been urged to take specific advice on the tanning scheme suitable for their skin type after EU inspectors found service providers do not regularly provide warnings on the hazards of artificial tanning.
With incidence of skin cancer doubling every 15-20 years, new research into the tanning business was conducted against the backdrop of growing scientific consensus about the risk of cancer from ultraviolet (UV) radiation systems used in the artificial tanning process.
Research jointly funded by the European Commission and the tanning industry found three main problems:
- UV radiation limits for sunbeds were violated in one in seven sunbeds; guidance for consumers, including on the hazards of UV radiation or prohibiting their use by under-18s, was not provided; there were “insufficient” warnings on sunbeds that UV radiation may cause injury.