Call for tougher solarium tanning regulations Australia-wide

Victoria, October 5: Solarium or sun bed tanning, which is the best and the quickest way to browning one’s skin for the ‘in’ look, now seems to be in the dock as latest research reveals alarming statistics, blaming the technique for at least 7 deaths and 51 cases of melanoma each year.

The study by researchers from the Queensland Institute of Medical Research and the Australian Radiationdefine Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency, that got published this Saturday, in the Medical Journal of Australia, calls for tougher regulatory standards for the tanning industry nationwide.

It compared the amount of UV ray exposure from sun bed tanning and that from direct sun bathing by exposure in the sun. It was found that 3.6% of the total exposure the Victorians got to UV rays was from the solarium tanning.

As a result there was an estimated 294 cases of squamous cell carcinoma, 51 cases of melanoma and 7 deaths in Victoria. However, this number was even greater in NSW and Queensland. While NSW had 12 deaths a year from the solarium exposure, there have been an estimated 14 deaths from the same reason in Queensland.

"There is a strong case for national regulation, notwithstanding the recognition that intentional sunbathing outdoors is a far greater behavioral problem than indoor tanning," the paper said.

According to the authors if the regulations came through, it would save the government an additional $3 million that it spends on healthcare and Medicare claims related to these problems.

Despite the alarming stats revealed by the research, the solarium industry denies any such health threats and believes that these are “just stats and not actual incidences,” according to Patrick Holly of the Australasian Solarium Association.

A solarium that uses electricity to produce concentrated form of artificial UV rays in order to tan the skin uniformly had become quite a rage amongst teenagers and young party goers who love the convenient and quick tanned effect and choose to ignore the side effects, which are far too dangerous.

The sun bed or sun panel exposure rapidly causes the skin cells to produce melanin, which is what gives the darker complexion. This, however, is considered unsafe as natural or artificial exposure to UV rays makes one more prone to skin cancerdefine.

And when the radiations one is exposing oneself to is five times stronger than the mid day summer sun, it is all the more better to stay away, as quite rightly said by one of the researchers, “no tan is worth dying for.”