RAFT statement on sunbeds

Posted 13/11/09

Recently there has been an increase in the number of high street tanning salons with coin-operated sunbeds, which are unsupervised, leading to underage usage of these machines.

Sunbeds emit high intensity radiation over a short period of time, which is predominantly UVA radiation, and RAFT's research into UVA shows that there is a link between UV radiation and skin damage. One of our aims is to provide the public with well-researched facts that allow them to make their own choices about their sun and tanning habits.

Melanoma is now the most common cancer in young people aged 15-34, and kills more than 2000 people a year, that is five people dying of melanoma in the UK every day. This form of Skin Cancer is totally preventable - 98% of skin cancer cases are as a result of over exposure to the sun or sun beds.

Sunbeds have capacity to emit very high levels of UV, many times stronger than the midday summer sun in most countries. RAFT is concerned about the use of sunbeds, and we support the call to ban people under the age of 18 using them.