TWEAKMENT
Why I’ll never go on a sunbed again
By
18th July 2023
I don’t know about you, but I was really shocked to hear that the number of tanning salons in the UK has nearly doubled in the past 10 years. Information from the analysts Local Data Company reveals that there are now 2,171 dedicated tanning shops in the UK, compared to 1,127 in 2012.
Sunbeds damage the skin
I thought sunbeds were on the way out, but I’m really distressed to see that they are more popular than ever. What’s the problem? Sunbeds are really bad for the skin because they are just giving you massive doses of UVA and in a nutshell, this accelerates ageing in the skin and increases the chances of developing skin cancer.
The World Health Organisation classifies sunbeds as carcinogenic. It’s estimated that using sunbeds can increase your risk of melanoma skin cancer by 20%, says Cancer Research UK.
Skin cancer isn’t just a problem for the elderly
It also bothers me because skin cancer is no longer just an old-person thing. Sure, after a lifetime of UV exposure, many of us will start developing skin cancers of one sort or another and the various forms of skin cancer used to be confined to people of 60 and over who had spent a lot of time outside or abroad without sunscreen.
But rates of melanoma for under 55s have increased by 63% in the past 25 years. The risk of melanoma doubles for sunbed users under the age of 35.
Sunbeds don’t give you vitamin D
If you’re a sunbed fan and you’re making excuses to yourself that you need the vitamin D, can I remind you that you do not get vitamin D from lying on a sunbed. You need real summer sunlight on the skin, and the UVB rays it contains, for that.
Sunbeds are banned in Brazil and Australia
There is really nothing to recommend sunbed use, particularly when self-tans have become so very good and easy to use. Commercial sunbeds are banned in Brazil and Australia, and a 2019 survey by the British Skin Foundation found that 77 per cent of the dermatologists they asked supported a sunbed ban in the UK.
It’s illegal in England, Scotland and Wales for under-18s to use sunbeds.
I used to love sunbeds. But I wouldn’t use one now.
Yes, ok it feels wonderful lying in the full glare of a bunch of UV tubes, especially when the days are short and the weather is dull. I know, I used to use them regularly. Heavens, the gym I belonged to in the 80s gave out a token for the sunbeds along with our locker keys on every single visit, and if I had 20 minutes spare, I’d be on there, particularly in the winter.
But now? I wouldn’t dream of it. I really wouldn’t, and I would strongly recommend that you don’t either.
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