One solarium trip raises melanoma risk Sarah Elks |
January 15, 2008 NEW research has found that people under the age of 35 who use solariums toemulate the Aussie ideal of a golden tanare increasing their risk of developingdeadly melanoma skin cancer by 98 per cent. The Queensland Institute of Medical Research study, led by scientist Louisa Gordon, compiled results from 21 investigations and found tanning beds were the cause of between 12 and 62 new cases of melanoma in Australia each year.
The research found one trip to a solarium was all it took to increase the risk of developing melanoma by 22 per cent, compared with a person who had never used a tanning bed.
Australians are diagnosed with more than 9500 melanomas each year, ending in more than 1100 deaths. The study exploded the myth that indoor tanning beds were safer than sunbaking outside.
Dr Gordon said tanning salons were very dangerous and were not a safe or healthy option. "Solariums emit stronger UVB rays, stronger than the outdoor sun ... it's very dangerous, it's very high levels of radiation that we shouldn't be exposed to," Dr Gordon said in Brisbane yesterday.
She urged governments to tighten regulations on the rapidly expanding solarium industry, which could prevent 1000 melanomas in the next generation of young Australians. Dr Gordon said voluntary standards that prohibited people under 18 and those with fair skin from using sun beds should be legally enforced.
A meeting of the nation's health ministers late last year resolved to develop a national approach to the regulation of the solarium industry. Queensland looks set to become the first state to introduce legislation for tanning salons.
State Health Minister Stephen Robertson will urge cabinet to legislate for tighter regulations within the next couple ofmonths.
"The Government has a responsibility to step in," Mr Robertson told The Australian. "We have concerns about aspects of the industry ... in some places, young women can access coin-operated solariums where there's no on-site supervision ... which is unacceptable."
At the launch of the report in Brisbane yesterday, the mother of a 25-year-old melanoma victim implored people to be "sunsmart" and avoid solariums.
Tracy Eather's daughter Amanda Carter fought a two-year battle with cancer and died late last year. Ms Eather said Amanda did not spend a lot of time in the sun but had visited tanning salons before her formal and her wedding.
Having lost her daughter, who left behind a young son and husband, Ms Eather said her family was striving to establish a melanoma awareness foundation. "I said to Amanda in her last few days, 'There's no way you're going to go through this horrific pain without some good coming from it'," Ms Eather said.
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