Sunbeds are twice as dangerous as midday sun: researchers There are around 12,800 cases of malignant melanoma diagnosed in the UK a year and rates have more than quadrupled in the past 30 years, a faster rise than any other cancer. Professor Harry Moseley, consultant medical physicist at University of Dundee and lead author, said: "The development of high-power sunlamps, along with clear failures of the sunbed industry to regulate themselves effectively, is putting young people at an even greater risk of skin cancer than we previously thought. We hope that these findings will make people think twice before using sunbeds as you can't be sure how much radiation you're exposing yourself to when you try to top-up a tan. People need to be encouraged to take better care of their skin, otherwise the cases of malignant melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, will continue to increase in England. Yinka Ebo, senior health information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: "It's worrying to see that so many sunbeds in England are not meeting the safety standards. This strengthens our advice that using a sunbed just isn't worth it. Research has already shown that using sunbeds for the first time before the age of 35 increases the risk of malignant melanoma by 87 per cent. They're not going to do you any good - the best case scenario is that they'll age and damage your skin; the worst case scenario is a cancer diagnosis and potentially death. The strength of UV from sunbeds was found to be no different in those areas where the licensing of sunbeds is required compared to unlicensed areas. The British and European standard was introduced in 2003 and sets out a maximum level of UV radiation to be emitted by sunbeds used for cosmetic purposes. The findings suggest that there is much more work for local authorities to do to ensure that standards are being met by tanning businesses. Nina Goad of the British Association of Dermatologists explained: "Product safety standards are there to protect the public and the government needs to step up its regulation of the industry. England is sadly trailing behind the rest of the UK in this matter. We need proper regulation, covering issues like safety of equipment and health warnings for clients and enforceable through inspections of premises. Gary Lipman, chairman of The Sunbed Association said: "The findings of this study are two years out of date. If the study was undertaken today the results would be dramatically different. Sunbeds have been required to have a maximum UV output since 2009 and The Sunbed Association (TSA) has been working with its members, non-members and the enforcement departments within local authorities since that time to inform about the change in UV emission levels, advise how to become compliant and ensure compliance. All new and traded sunbeds since April 2009 have had to be compliant. Sunbed users should check with their salon that the sunbed is 0.3 compliant and that means its UV emission levels are guaranteed to be no higher than the mid-day Mediterranean sun. There has never been a safer time to use a sunbed. In addition, the statistic quoted from CRUK about sunbed use and melanoma risk was taken from a report published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) last year. Since publication the data findings of the report were challenged and a correction about the report was printed in the December 2012 issue of the BMJ. This statistic is categorically inaccurate. It is time to stop the scaremongering amount sunbed use and focus on communicating the need for responsible UV exposure whether on a sunbed or in the sun.