Cancer Research UK is calling for a ban on children using sunbeds because of the risk of developing skin cancer.

BBC News reports that the charity called for the ban after a government-funded survey involving more than 9,000 children discovered that 6 per cent had used a sunbed – and in some areas of the UK, 40 per cent of children used them on a weekly basis.

Scotland has already introduced legislation to restrict adult-use of sunbeds. The regulation will become law in December. Wales is also considering a similar move and Northern Ireland is planning a consultation on sunbed use.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, lead researcher Catherine Thomson – who is head of statistical information at Cancer Research UK – said that figures on sunbed use from Liverpool and Sunderland were ‘alarmingly high’.

‘We firmly believe that legislation is the only way to protect under-18s – salons should not be allowed to be unmanned,’ she said.

Legislation would in effect end the use of coin-operated sunbeds – the researchers found that one in five sunbeds in gyms, tanning salons and leisure centres were unsupervised. A total of 23 per cent of children and teenagers were found to use sunbeds at home.

One victim of early sunbed use is 37-year-old Justine Sheils – an administrator from Liverpool, who began using sunbeds at the age of 15 and was diagnosed with malignant melanoma at the age of 32. Ms Sheils said:

‘I see girls of 14 or 15 in their school uniforms going into that same salon I used to use and they come out looking like lobsters, so the results of this survey are shocking but not surprising.’

Public health minister Gillian Merron said the study had revealed ‘worrying’ levels of sunbed use – and said the government was ‘determined’ to protect children from the dangers of using sunbeds.

‘The report confirms that voluntary action by the industry is not protecting young people, and points to the need to introduce legislation,’ said Ms Merron.

The British Association of Dermatologists said that people would be ‘horrified’ if children were given easy access to cigarettes and sunbeds should not be ‘any different’.

The Sunbed Association said most salons would not allow under-16s to use sunbeds, but added that the association would be amending its code of practice to bring it into line with any new regulations introduced.

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