Tanning Booths Are Cancer Incubators, Researchers Say

A New South Wales government decision to ban solariums has been welcomed by University of Sydney researchers whose study contributed to the move.

AsianScientist (Feb. 7, 2012) – A New South Wales (NSW) government decision to ban solariums has been welcomed by University of Sydney researchers whose study contributed to the move.

“This decision by the NSW government is groundbreaking. NSW is the first state in Australia to propose such legislation and Australia will be only the second country in the world, after Brazil, to take this step,” said Professor Bruce Armstrong of the Sydney Medical School.

In 2011, Armstrong co-authored the Australian Melanoma Family Study (AMFS) report in the International Journal of Cancer, which was the first to examine the association of sunbed use with melanoma occurrence in younger adults.

It found that the use of sunbeds by young people aged 18 to 39 years increased their risk of developing melanoma by an average 41 percent.

Professor Graham Mann, who leads melanoma research at the Westmead Millennium Institute for Medical Research at the University of Sydney, led an Australian study into increased melanoma incidence and use of sunbeds by young people.

Mann’s study showed that the risk for people under 30 was, in fact, even higher.

“For people who got melanoma under the age of 30, and who had used sunbeds at all, 75 percent of those melanomas are attributable to sunbeds,” Mann said.

The state government’s decision to legislate was also applauded by Professor of Public Health Simon Chapman, who likened these tanning beds to “cancer incubators.”

“Solariums are not like spray-tan studios, catering to fashion victims. They are cancer incubators. I am delighted by this decision which is also a testament to the advocacy of the melanoma survivor Jay Allen,” Chapman said.

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Source: University of Sydney.
Disclaimer: This article does not necessarily reflect the views of AsianScientist or its staff.

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