Just ONE sunbed ‘doubles your risk of skin cancer – with women 83% more likely to develop disease’
SUNBEDS can almost double the risk of cancer - with women 83 per cent more likely to develop the disease, experts warn.
New research found that the risk of skin cancer remained regardless of what age someone started using sunbeds or the period of time.
The study, published in JAMA Dermatology, followed 150,000 Norwegian women aged 18 to 64 for 25 years.
They completed questionnaires about their use of indoor sunbeds and the pigmentation of their skin.
In total, 597 of them were diagnosed with skin cancer, enabling the researchers to calculate that the risk of developing cancer increased with greater use of sunbeds.
It comes after The Sun launched the Dying For A Tan campaign last month to highlight the dangers of sunbeds and the signs of skin cancer.
Dr Simon Lergenmuller, an epidemiologist at the University of Oslo in Norway and the study's author, said: "These results support development of policies that regulate indoor tanning."
'Dose-response link'
In the first study of its kind, his team identified a "dose-response link" with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) - the second most common form of skin cancer.
They usually develop from exposure to UV light, which makes cells in the skin reproduce faster - resulting in a tumour.
Dr Lergenmuller said: "Risk of SCC increased with increasing cumulative number of indoor tanning sessions."
This applied to both women who used them for 10 years or less - and more than 10 years.
They were 41 and 43 per cent more likely to develop the disease respectively than those who had never used them.
Those younger or older than 30 when they began using sunbeds were up to 83 per cent more likely to develop the disease.
Dr Lergenmuller said: "The findings provide supporting evidence there is a dose-response association between indoor tanning and SCC risk among women.
"The association between cumulative exposure to indoor tanning and SCC risk was the same regardless of duration of use and age at initiation."
Norway, one of the few countries with national high-quality SCC incidence data, has had a nine and sixfold increase in SCC incidence among women and men respectively since 1963.
Dying For A Tan
There are an estimated 7,000 tanning salons in Britain, with some offering sessions from as little as 50p a minute.
Kids as young as EIGHT are using sunbeds, with seemingly little understanding they are playing Russian Roulette with their health.
According to Cancer Research UK, Melanoma skin cancer risk is 16-25 per cent higher in people who have used a sunbed (at any age), compared to people who have never used sunbeds.
This is because sunbeds pelt the skin with such strong UV rays which increase the risk of developing malignant melanoma - the most serious form of skin cancer.
Just 20 minutes on one is comparable to four hours in the sun – with many stronger than Mediterranean rays at midday.
In many cases the damage is invisible until it’s too late, as it can take up to 20 years to become apparent.
Around 16,000 new melanoma skin cancer cases are diagnosed in the UK every year - that's 44 every day.
There are around 2,300 melanoma skin cancer deaths annually - that's more than six every day.
It’s part of the reason the World Health Organisation has deemed sunbeds are as dangerous as smoking.
This is why Fabulous says it is time to stop Dying For A Tan.
Dr Lergenmuller added: "Avoidance of indoor tanning may help prevent not only melanoma but also SCC."
The Sunbeds (Regulation Act) 2010 prohibits under-18s from using commercial sunbeds.
Earlier this year a study by the British Skin Foundation found 75 per cent of dermatologists think sunbeds should be banned in the UK.
Nine in 10 also believe sunbeds on the high street are leading to a rise in skin cancer cases and deaths.
Sunbeds give out ultraviolet (UV) rays - and overexposure to UV rays is the main preventable cause of skin cancer.
MORE ON SKIN CANCER
Statistics show cases of melanoma - a deadly type of skin cancer - has soared in the past decade, particularly in younger people.
About one in 10 UK adults are regular sunbed users - with one-in-fifty addicted to them, according to the World Health Organisation.
The WHO has said they are as dangerous as smoking.
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at [email protected] or call 0207 782 4368 . You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.