Sunbed Ban Looms For Younger Teens

Sunbeds are to face stricter legislations soon as the Health Minister Mary Harney today said she is to introduce comprehensive legislation to regulate the use of sunbeds.

As is soon to be the case in the North, this is to include banning their use by under-18s.

The legislation, entitled the Public Health (Sunbeds) Bill, will also prohibit the use of sunbeds in an unsupervised premises; require the placing of warning signs in sunbed premises and labels on the beds themselves and introduce penalties for non-compliance.

"I propose to submit a Memorandum to Government seeking approval to draft a Bill restricting the use of sunbeds along these lines by the end of June," Minister Harney said in a statement.

"Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in Ireland and is a particular problem for Irish people because of their fair skin.

"The measures I am proposing to introduce are very much in keeping with the Government's broader cancer control agenda."

The Bill will take into account recommendations from a range of bodies including the World Health Organisation, the Irish Cancer Society, the Environmental Health Officers Association and the National Cancer Control Programme.

Last month the Stormont Health Minister Michael McGimpsey said the purpose of his new legislation on sunbeds was to reduce skin cancer cases and deaths by regulating the industry and ensuring everyone is aware of the risks.

He said that research shows that using sunbeds before the age of 30 can increase the risk of developing melanoma skin cancer by up to 75% and the mortality from melanoma due to sunbed use alone is estimated to be about 100 deaths per year in the UK.

"Skin cancer is now the most common cancer in Northern Ireland and accounts for 28% of all individuals diagnosed with cancer.

"While the rise in skin cancer rate is not entirely due to the use of sunbeds, there is now substantial evidence of the increased risks," he explained.

See: Sunbed Bill To Illuminate Risks

(BMCC/GK)