Sun beds warning from health chiefs

HEALTH chiefs at Warrington have issued a health warning over use of sun beds and the damage it is doing to skin that can lead to skin cancer.
Director of public health, Dr Rita Robertson, said today: “We know that a lot of people use sun beds to top up their tans in the run up to Christmas because they associate looking tanned with looking healthy. But far from being healthy, sun beds can be dangerous.
“Sun beds can emit up to 10 to 15 times as much UV radiation as the midday sun and you should never use a sun bed if you are under 18, have fair or freckly skin, burn easily, have a lot of moles, have had skin cancer in the past, have a family history of skin cancer or are using medication that increases your sensitivity to UV”.
Dr Robertson added: “The damage a sun bed is doing to your skin can’t be seen by the human eye and therefore people think they are fine, but they might not be. Using sun beds not only ages your skin prematurely but significantly increases the risk of cancer.”
Dr Sue Burke, Warrington’s GP Champion for Cancer, said: “There is no doubt that for some people think using a sun bed to top up their tans is an everyday event and nothing to be worried about.
“The reality is very different and people should be concerned. Why put yourself, your family and your friends through it?”
Research suggests that people who use sun beds have a 15 per cent higher chance of getting skin cancer than people who don’t, and that people who first use a sun bed under the age of 35 have an even higher chance of developing cancer.
Doctors emphasise that people who are worried or have a mole that is changing – getting bigger, changing shape or colour, itching or painful, bleeding or becoming crusty or looking inflamed – should go and see their GP to get it checked out.
Log onto www.cancerresearchuk.org for further information on staying safe in the sun and sun bed safety.