Dying to be perfect?

The summer has drawn to a close. Long, lazy days spent basking in the sun with not a care in the world or thoughts of work have passed. And as winter approaches and the memories of those easy days fade, so too do the suntans a lot of us spent our months of freedom cultivating. Or do they?

For some people, winter is no excuse not to look like a bronzed goddess or Adonis, and they will undertake a few short sessions under intense UV rays to maintain that golden glow. But just what exactly is it about tanning that has us cooking ourselves in the human barbeques of sunbeds?

Reactions to sunbeds are mixed. Ask one person what they think of them and they’ll tell you it’s just an easy way to build a base for a tan before going on holiday.

Ask another and they’ll say that they’re cancer machines. Ask health minister Mary Harney and she’ll tell you that they should be banned, and she’ll do her best to get the EU to agree with her.

At the Livestrong summit in Dublin last month, Harney announced that legislation to ban the use of sunbeds by minors would soon be introduced. She went one step further however, and said that she would be in favour of a total ban of the machines, saying it is a “no-brainer” and that she would be asking her officials to examine the possibility of such law.
“We know the huge level of skin cancer in Ireland, we know sunbeds are dangerous and hugely contributing to people developing skin cancer,” the minister continued.

Indeed, skin cancer is by far the most prevalent type of cancer across the world and Ireland is no exception, having the third highest rate of malignant melanoma in the EU. Over 7,500 cases of skin cancer were diagnosed here in 2007, the latest year figures are available from.

There are two types of skin cancer, malignant melanoma and non-melanoma, which is the most common and is easily treatable.

Non-melanoma skin cancer encompasses two different types; basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. Of the two, the latter is more dangerous as it has a greater risk of spreading to other parts of the body, but if detected early it can successfully be treated with simple surgery.

Both forms usually occur in people who spend a lot of time outdoors and are exposed regularly to UV rays. Malignant melanoma, or simply melanoma, is far more dangerous and has a much greater chance of spreading.

It is one of the few cancers that affects young adults and is the leading type of cancer for women in their 20s in Britain. The risk of melanoma increases if one has been badly burnt in the sun.

So what’s the connection between sunbeds and skin cancer and why all the fuss? UV rays, both from the sun and most types of tanning beds, are made up of both UVA and UVB rays, with UVB long thought to be the lethal type that causes cancer.

Recently however, scientists at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) discovered in tests that all types cause disturbing mutations.

On the back of this research, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has re-classified sunbeds and put them in the category known as “carcinogenic to humans”, the highest cancer risk category that also includes cigarettes. The research put forward by the IARC concluded that the risk of skin cancer is increased to 75% when people use sunbeds under the age of 30.

It is mostly younger people that use sunbeds and the age at which they begin to use them is a major cause of concern to health officials. Minister Harney referred to this when she remarked how it is “sad to see children as young as six or seven, in advance of their First Holy Communion for example, being exposed to sunbeds”.

However, it is not only the very young who are at risk from under-regulation. In Ireland, an undercover investigation by the Irish Cancer Society found that sunbed users are not warned of the dangers of using the machines and that staff appear to have very limited training on the subject.

Of the outlets that they visited, none offered the same recommendations for the amount of sessions required or even the time per session. The investigation also found that staff appeared to have no knowledge of the dangers of sunbeds and saw it as a “natural and safe thing to do”.

So could sunbeds be safe? The chief executive of The Sunbed Association, a European sunbed manufacturer and operator organisation says “there is no proven link between the responsible use of sunbeds and skin cancer” and that those who do use them do so less than 20 times a year.

But if there is no regulation of the industry, how is it known what responsible usage is? When asked by the College View, people responded with different times for what they thought the length of a session should be, ranging from six minutes up to twelve with some using sun cream and others not.

Is there any benefit to using sunbeds? Sufferers of psoriasis, an itching and painful skin disorder, find that sunshine can ease the condition but they must see a doctor for UV treatment.

A dermatologist will monitor the amount of time a patient spends under the UV lamps and ensure that treatment of this nature is not given frequently but when a person is left to their own devices at a tanning salon, there is no supervision.

So why do we use sunbeds – do we think that a few minutes lying under the lights can’t do us any harm? Or do we know the risks and take a chance anyway?

Despite evidence to the contrary, people believe that a tan equals looking healthy, when in fact it is an indication of major damage to the skin. Some say that looking tanned makes them feel more confident but do they have the same confidence when they’re in the tanning booth?

When so many people choose to use fake tan, why bother with sun beds at all? For some people, it’s natural or nothing and fake tan can be seen as a hassle. But is it worth playing with fire? For now at least, the decision is all yours.