Following the success of the campaign in Australia where sunbed use has been banned in several states, a similar campaign has been set up in the UK.
Working in collaboration, Mark Carter, a stage 4 Malignant Melanoma patient and Emma Stevens, who lost two friends to malignant melanoma (and both owned sunbeds/lamps) have called for the UK Government to ban them. They have set up a petition Consider a Nationwide ban on Sunbeds epetitions.direct.gov.uk/pe... and are inviting members of the general public to sign it.
Mark has recently launched a new website sunbedban.co.uk/ to help raise awareness of the dangers of Sun exposure and Sunbed use.
Mark has also set up a Facebook page Sunbed Ban UK and a Facebook group Sunbed Awareness Group UK facebook.com/groups/sunbeda... both containing links and the latest news stories that highlight the dangers of sunbed use.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has moved Ultra-Violet emitting tanning beds to its highest cancer risk category and labelled them as carcinogenic to humans.
Cancer Research UK has also highlighted that sunbeds increase the risk of melanoma skin cancer - the most serious form of the disease. Eight out of ten sunbed users have increased their risk of a life-threatening form of skin cancer by around 75 per cent according to the charity.
Skin Cancer rates are increasing alarmingly in the UK. An outright ban would save many needless deaths and help bring the death rates from skin cancer down.
Sunbeds have been banned throughout Brazil and a ban comes into force in South Australia in 2015. The American Academy of Dermatologists have issued a position statement recommending a ban on the production and sale of indoor tanning equipment for non-medical purposes.
