Bruce George MP, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Skin yesterday announced his support for Julie Morgan MP’s Private Members Bill on Sunbed use. The bill aims to prevent under-18s from using sunbeds and is sponsored by a cross party group of MPs.

Bruce, as chairman of the APPG on Skin, has for a number of years been campaigning for mandatory regulation of the sunbed industry and in 2008 a major report of the APPG Skin called for the government to ban under-18s using sunbeds. Bruce is therefore very happy to see a Private Members Bill introduced aiming to achieve this goal.

Speaking today Bruce said:

“I am pleased to announce my support for Julie Morgan’s bill. As Chairman of the All Party Group on Skin I have been campaigning on issues surrounding skin for quite a few years and in the last few years I have become quite concerned about the unregulated nature of sunbeds. In 2008 a report of our All Party Group called for government regulation of the industry to include a legally binding minimum age for sunbeds and I am pleased that Julie Morgan’s bill will seek to make this change.

Sunbeds can be extremely dangerous to children’s health and yet many under 18s seem to be using them on a regular basis. We must act to prevent young people having access to sunbeds. And I will be giving my full support to this Bill.”

Research commissioned by Cancer Research UK in 2008/09 found that more than a quarter of a million children have used sunbeds in the UK. Indeed the research found that in some areas (including Liverpool and Sunderland) sunbed usage was as high as 50 per cent among 15-17 year old girls. We have clear evidence that sunbed use increases the risk of developing skin cancer. In addition, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has re-classified sunbeds into its highest cancer risk category, putting it alongside tobacco.