Last week you may have seen a story in the media about a fourteen girl who was very seriously burnt after spending just 19 minutes on a sunbed. She received first degree burns to 70% of her body. This story highlights the dangers of sun beds and demonstrates the desperate need for a legal code of conduct for such companies.

In Parliament I chair the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Skin in which members of both Houses of Parliament meet regularly with doctors, nurses, pharmacists, pressure groups etc, to discuss issues affecting those with skin complaints. We produce, very much like a select committee, detailed reports based on the acquisition of a great deal of evidence. I then lead a small delegation of the group to meet the Minister to discuss our recommendations and what action the Department of Health intends to take. Just a few weeks ago we published our latest report “Skin Cancer – Improving Treatment and Care”, this is the eleventh report that the group has produced. In that report we raised a number of serious concerns about the use of sunbeds and the increased risk of cancer to those that use sunbeds. A study conducted by the International Agency for Research into Cancer concluded that those who begin to use sunbeds before they turn 35 increase their risk of malignant melanoma by 75 per cent.

However equally concerning is the emergence of stronger and more powerful sunbeds. Since 1998, there have been technological advances which have resulted in new, more powerful ‘fast tan’ units. These have become very popular in the UK, along with the emergence of unsupervised sun parlours. It is these unsupervised sun parlours which are the greatest concern. The Health and Safety Executive has issued guidance that recommends, amongst other things, that sunbeds should not be used by anyone under 16, those with fair skin, or those who have previously been burned. However as last weeks story highlighted while this guidance remains voluntary people will ignore these rules.

The All-Party Group therefore recommended that the Health and Safety Executive’s advice should be made mandatory for all sunning parlours, and should include a ban on use of sunbeds by those under 18. We also recommended that the un-staffed, coin operated sunbeds such as the one the young girl used last week, should be banned unless they can provide clear proof of compliance with the HSE’s advice. Further more, better, and more visible point-of-sale information should be mandatory where sunbeds are available, advising people, in detail, of the health risks associated with sunbed use.

I visited one parlour in the West Midlands that had very limited supervision. It had warning notices all around on what to do and not to do, but I suspect many don’t bother to read. This 14 year old broke many of the rules and was therefore complicit in her own sad experience. Despite this I am emboldened in my desire for supervised premises and mandatory guidance. I would distinguish the reputable sector of the market that seeks to minimise the risk of abuse and error.