Is it safe to use sunbeds?: Assessing the health implications of UV exposure

Although the use of sunbeds has some positive health effects, it is likely to increase the risk of skin and possibly eye cancer. This is one of the conclusions of an opinion issued by the European Commission Scientific Committee on Consumer Products (SCCP), the Opinion on Biological effects of ultraviolet radiation relevant to health with particular reference to sunbeds for cosmetic purposes, which assesses the general health and safety implications of exposure of persons to natural and artificial ultraviolet radiation.

At the request of the European Commission DG Health and Consumer Protection, GreenFacts has faithfully summarised this opinion on sunbeds and ultraviolet radiation. A short summary of the opinion is now available on http://copublications.greenfacts.org/en/sunbeds/ in English, French, German, and Spanish. The full summary is available in GreenFacts’ copyrighted Three-Level Structure of increasing detail on the website of the DG Health and Consumer Protection: http://ec.europa.eu/health/opinions2/en/sunbeds/.

Highlights of the SCCP Opinion

Developed in the 1970s, sunbeds came into widespread use in the 1990s. They emit ultraviolet (UV) radiation to achieve a tan, which appears after a few exposures and becomes more intense with additional exposures.

Though the use of sunbeds might have some health benefits, such as higher levels of vitamin D, it can also cause undesirable skin reactions, increase the risk of skin and eye cancer, and cause the skin to age prematurely.

People who should be advised not to use sunbeds include:

• individuals with known risk factors for skin cancer, such as those with sensitive skin types, freckles, unusual or multiple moles, or a family history of melanoma, and
• individuals under the age of 18 years, since the risk of skin cancer seems to be particularly high when sunbeds are used at a young age.

Individuals who do use sunbeds should wear eye protection during the tanning sessions.

Safe limits for preventing short-term effects of UV radiation from sunbeds, such as sunburn, depend on skin type. The dose of UV radiation received during each tanning session should be small enough to avoid sunburn. Rather than having a very short tanning session with high-intensity radiation, it is recommended to have a sunbed session of at least 10 minutes with a more moderate level of radiation in order to minimize the risk of sunburn resulting from possible timing errors. In any case, sunbeds should not emit more UV radiation than tropical sun.

At present, it is not possible to give a safe limit for preventing long-term effects such as skin cancer because there is no known dose below which there is no risk of developing cancer.