Sunbed ban to become law

We are delighted that the Sunbeds Bill has passed through the Lords!

BMA Cymru would like to thank Julie Morgan MP for highlighting this important issue, and for the hard work which has gone into making this law.

Doctors have been concerned for some time about the effects that exposure to harmful UV rays can cause.

Younger skin is especially sensitive to ultraviolet light, and just one day of burning as a child increases the risk of getting skin cancer as an adult.

This legislation will protect vulnerable young people, and have a positive effect on the health of the people of Wales.

We will continue to work with the Welsh Assembly Government over the coming months as the regulations are drawn up.

BMA Cymru puts the focus on the dangers of tanning

This article in the South Wales Echo today explains a bit more about our short film “A tan to die for”.

I’m glad to see it getting coverage before the debate today – we have sent it to all Assembly members to remind them about the dangers that sunbeds can cause, giving expert views as well as the views of schoolchildren.

Thanks for all the positive feedback we have been receiving about the film clip – this is a public health campaign that we feel strongly about and it’s good to know the public are behind it too. If you haven't viewed it yet the link is below.

A tan to die for

This Wednesday a debate on the Health Committees report on the use and regulation of sunbeds in Wales takes place in the Plenary session.

BMA staff have produced a short information video and sent it to all Assembly Members ahead of the debate to remind them of the risks that sunbeds pose to the people of Wales.

We are hoping that they will support the recommendations of the committee.

In 2010 there is no excuse for the danger to public health posed by unregulated, unsupervised, coin-operated sunbeds.

The BMA Cymru production “A tan to die for” is on YouTube, and features Welsh schoolchildren giving their views on tanning, as well as consultant dermatologist Sharon Blackford and Cardiff North Labour MP Julie Morgan, who BMA Cymru Wales have work worked closely with in the campaign for UK legislation to ban children from using salons.

View the film (in two parts) here – and tell us what you think of it!

Dr Andrew Dearden gives evidence to Assembly Health Committee on Sunbeds

Ahead of next Tuesday’s Assembly debate on the Heath Committees report on the use and regulation of sunbeds in Wales – we thought readers might want to know what BMA Cymru Wales said in our evidence to the Committee inquiry - and what regulation we have called for.

In this video, Chairman of BMA Welsh Council Dr Andrew Dearden, gives evidence to the Committee.



Our written evidence, including our recommendations, is also available to view here.

Sunbeds Bill through to the next stage!

I am delighted that Members of Parliament have voted Julie Morgan’s Private Members Bill on sunbed regulation to the next stage.

I hope that today's vote will encourage more MPs to get involved in the debate and begin to feed through into a commitment by Government for radical action to regulate sunbeds.

BMA Cymru Wales has campaigned for the tanning industry to be regulated for many years. We want to see tough action on sunbeds - including unmanned and coin-operated ones.

Doctors have been concerned for years about the rising incidences of skin cancer and the access that people have to sunbeds for cosmetic use.

We are particularly concerned by evidence that children are using sunbeds. Children are especially sensitive to ultraviolet light, and just one day of burning as a child increases the risk of getting skin cancer as an adult.

BMA Cymru strongly believe that there should be a thorough regulation of sunbed operators, and that tighter controls will have a positive impact on skin cancer prevention efforts.

I look forward to watching the further progress of this vitally important Bill.

Calling for support for Julie Morgan MP

We are urging all Welsh MPs to support Julie Morgan’s Private Member’s Bill which would close a loophole in the law to protect the public from the dangers of sunbeds. The Bill is receiving its second reading in the House of Commons on Friday.

We are urging all Welsh MPs to remain in Westminster on Friday to support and vote for the Bill. It requires 100 votes to move to the committee stage as part of its route to the statute book. If it fails to attract this support, it will fall.

Doctors have been concerned for some time about the link between exposure to UV radiation and skin cancer which is indisputable – shown by the recent decision by the International Agency for Research on Cancer to raise the sunbed classification to “carcinogenic to humans” - the highest risk category.

We are particularly concerned by evidence in Wales that children are using sunbeds. Children are especially sensitive to ultraviolet light, and just one day of burning as a child increases the risk of getting skin cancer as an adult.

We must educate people about the dangers of sunbeds and counter the myths about tanning. A suntan is not a sign of good health; a tan means that the skin has been damaged.

A thorough regulation of sunbed operators, and tighter controls will have a positive impact on skin cancer prevention efforts.

This bill will protect vulnerable people. It will be good for the public health of Wales.

My colleague Dr Sharon Blackford, Consultant Dermatologist at Singleton Hospital has also been vocal about these issues:

“We are seeing more and more younger patients with skin cancer, particularly young women who are frequent sunbed users.

“In the past some types of skin cancer were only seen in elderly people, particularly outdoor workers, but now it is commonplace to see patients in their 40’s and even younger with these tumours.

“Dermatologists would never recommend sunbeds for tanning, it's much safer to stay pale and interesting or to use a false tan, or in other words fake it, don't bake it.”

The burns unit at Morriston Hospital has treated patients with burns caused by tanning sessions.

This legislation is vital to stop more young people being exposed to the risk of developing skin cancer.

BMA Cymru Wales is urging all Welsh Members of Parliament to rally behind this important cause and support Julie Morgan on Friday at the second reading.

WELCOMED: Proposals to Close Sunbed Regulation Loop-hole

Today the National Assembly’s Health Committee publishes its report looking into the use and [serious lack of] regulation of the sunbed industry in Wales.

A clear message to discourage the use of sunbeds was sent out earlier this year following the success of our campaign to get local authorities in Wales to remove the sunbeds they operated in their local leisure centres.

Now the Welsh Assembly has the opportunity to develop on that, to steal a march and introduce adequate measures to regulate the commercial tanning industry and thereby protect public health in Wales.

The Health Committees report makes for very interesting reading, and while I would pick the Committee up on a few, very small, points in the document (as you would expect, you might say), BMA Cymru are absolutely delighted with its conclusions.

The report shows that the Committee has listened to the evidence it received – not just from us and the wider healthcare profession - but from a whole host of organisations and even from parents.

In line with our recommendations the Committee is asking the Welsh Government to “seek the legislative competence to introduce new laws to enable local authorities in Wales to regulate, license and, if necessary, impose liabilities and create offences in relation to sunbed facilities and their operators.”

Again, in line with our recommendations, (link) the Committee says that these new laws should be based around recommendations 1 and 2 of the thirteenth COMARE report on ‘The health effects and risks arising from exposure to ultraviolet radiation from tanning devices”.

As a minimum, the law should ensure that:
• use by under 18s is prohibited;
• use by other high risk groups is discouraged;
• facilities provide full-time supervision by well-trained staff;
• use of protective eyewear is compulsory;
• information setting out the potential health risks of using sunbeds is prominently displayed and provided to all users;
• information containing unproven health benefits of sunbed use should be prohibited from premises;
• written informed consent is obtained from all clients prior to use; and that
• facilities should not be allowed to use sunbeds that do not comply with both the British and European Standards on sunbed irradiance levels.

We will be urging the Health Minister and the Assembly Government to adopt and bring forward these proposals as soon as possible.

For us the essential point is that there is no such thing as a safe tan (unless it comes out of a bottle). The damage to your skin remains long after a tan has faded.

There is one area of regulation of the sunbed industry which we would like to see Wales go further on – that is advertising.

Although the report suggests that investment in the SunSmart campaign is needed on a UK level - bill-boards, posters and leaflets advertising commercial outlets continue to line most high streets in Wales. Although I’m not aware of any detailed study to date, I think it’s fair to say that these tend to be targeted towards our more deprived communities – and towards young people.

In our view a move to place tighter regulation on the commercial sunbed industry - including inspection and licensing, a restriction for under 18s and a ban on unsupervised salons - would be significantly more robust and complete, if it included some level of control on advertising and marketing.

Campaign Success – Every Welsh Council Leisure Centre soon to be Sunbed Free

We are absolutely delighted that after our recent sunbeds campaign, the three remaining local authorities in Wales (Vale of Glamorgan, Flintshire and Wrexham) who continued to operate and profit from sunbeds are on the road to removing them.

That means by April next year, no local authority owned leisure centre will operate sunbeds.

Our campaign exposed the shocking profits the three Councils were making from sunbeds – a combined profit of around £46,000 annually.

After our success in securing a commitment from the Vale of Glamorgan to remove the five sunbeds it operated across the county we pledged to take the campaign to North Wales – to Wrexham and Flintshire – who were the only ones left operating sunbeds.

The fact that the Vale has already bowed to pressure and removed its sunbeds and Wrexham Council have agreed to remove the ones it operates by April next year, is a great result for local public health. Next week, Flintshire Council’s Executive is to consider the issue and is expected to announce the removal of all sunbeds before the end of the year – determined not to be the last authority in Wales to do so.

The link between exposure to UV radiation and skin cancer is now indisputable – shown by the recent decision by the International Agency for Research on Cancer to raise the sunbed classification to “carcinogenic to humans” and the fact that the sunbed industry is largely unregulated in the UK.

The removal of all sunbeds operated by local authorities sends a clear message to the public on the dangers of sunbed use.

We’ll continue fighting for tighter regulation of the Commercial sunbed industry – especially for a ban on coin-operated / unsupervised salons and use by under 18s, a move we understand the Assembly's Health Minister has asked her officials to look into.

Exposing Wrexham Council’s sunbed profits

Our continuing campaign to highlight the dangers of sunbeds has revealed figures showing that over the last five years Wrexham Council has generated in excess of £83,000, by operating ten sunbeds in three of its leisure centres.

We were able to obtain the figures under a Freedom of Information request. And we are now calling for the immediate removal of all sunbeds from local authority-owned premises and for tighter regulation of the sunbed industry.

The figures are all the more shocking when you delve a bit deeper and see that the Council only began operating two of the sunbeds, at its Plas Madoc leisure and activity centre just last month.

Leaders on Wrexham Council have shown a blatant and reckless disregard for the health and well-being of the people they represent. They may well be making a lucrative profit from sunbeds, but you cannot put a price on good health. I’d go so far as to say that the Council’s conduct is unforgivably irresponsible.

The Council has told us that it is planning to remove all sunbeds by April next year, so why then have two more installed in the last few weeks? Such a move can only be put down to a last ditch attempt to make more money, putting profit before health.

The BMA’s recent criticism of the Vale of Glamorgan Council, who made an £15,000 annual profit from the five sunbeds it operated, led to that authority removing sunbeds from its leisure centres across the county. Since then we’ve pledged to continue in our fight to get Wrexham and Flintshire Councils, the last two in Wales to operate sunbeds, to remove them.

I don’t think the BMA is alone in believing that as a locally elected government Wrexham Council has an obligation to protect the health and welfare of local people. By ignoring the well-known and accepted scientific and medical evidence on the dangers of sunbed use, Wrexham Council has wilfully reneged on this duty of care.

Just one session a month on a sunbed doubles the average individual's annual dose of UV radiation and this is proven to greatly increase the risk of cancer, skin and eye problems in later life.

In 2009, there is no excuse for sunbeds to be operated by Local Authorities, especially in leisure centres which should be places of recreation, exercise and well-being. There is also no excuse for the current lax regulation of the commercial sunbed industry across the UK generally. When the BMA gives evidence to the National Assembly’s Health Committee inquiry in two day time, we’ll be highlighting all these issues.

NOTES –

WREXHAM COUNTY BOROUGH COUNCIL SUNBED ANALYSIS

FACILITY/LOCATION
Wrexham Waterworld
NUMBER OF BEDS SINCE 2002 - 2
NUMBER OF BEDS SINCE 2008 - 1
CHARGES - £3.20
MONITORING/BOOKING INCOME £
Maximum 20 sessions per year
04/05 - £7,765
05/06 - £5,909
06/07 - £4,772
07/08 - £5,168
08/09 - £3,590

FACILITY/LOCATION
Queensway Stadium
NUMBER OF BEDS SINCE 1996 - 2
CHARGES - £3.20
MONITORING/BOOKING INCOME £
Maximum 20 sessions per year
04/05 - £9,205
05/06 - £6,311
06/07 - £3,530
07/08 - £2,987
08/09 - £2,648

FACILITY/LOCATION
Plas Madoc
NUMBER OF BEDS SINCE 1990 - 3
NUMBER OF BEDS SINCE - August 2009
CHARGES - £2.50
MONITORING/BOOKING INCOME £
Maximum 20 sessions per year
05/06 - £6,702
06/07 - £11,091
07/08 - £8,764
08/09 - £5,190

ALL sunbeds will be removed by 1st April 2010.

ALL income generated would be offset against the departments deficit incurred in operating the Sports and Physical Activity service.

Vale of Glamorgan Council sees sunbeds sense

Congratulations to the Vale of Glamorgan Council on making the right decision and removing the five sunbeds it operates in leisure centres across the county.

We have recently criticised the council for dragging its feet over the enforcement of a recommendation to remove the sunbeds, so it’s great that the Council Executive has finally seen sense and resolved to get rid of them.

The Vale Council was the last Local Authority in South Wales to operate sunbeds.

It should never have had sunbeds on its premises. The fact that an attractive £15,000 profit was made annually for the council might go some way to explain the delay in removing them.

This decision is an extremely important one in terms of promoting local public health and wellbeing and it also helps to spread the message about the dangers of sunbeds and UV exposure. A message which both Flintshire and Wrexham – who are the only local authorities left in Wales still to operate sunbeds in their leisure centres – would do well to listen to.

The BMA will continue to call for these two remaining Local Authorities in North Wales to remove the sunbeds they run. They should be leading on health protection; operating sunbeds is simply reckless and irresponsible.

Leisure centres should be places of health, recreation and well-being, not places which provide facilities that are so damaging to a person’s health. Just one session a month will double the average individual's annual dose of UV radiation and this has been proven to greatly increase the risk of cancer, skin and eye problems in later life.

The view of the BMA has always been that there is no such thing as a safe tan (unless it comes out of a bottle). When a tan fades the damage to your skin remains. We want to see tighter regulation of the sunbed industry and a ban on coin-operated, unmanned salons. When we give evidence to the National Assembly’s Health Committee later this month that’s exactly what we’ll be calling for.

Local authority continues to put profit before health

I have some serious concerns to share on here about the conduct of the Vale of Glamorgan Council, in particular, the way in which it appears to be dragging its feet over the removal of sunbeds in three of its leisure centres across the county.

Back in May, a Vale Scrutiny Committee recommended in a report to the Cabinet that the sunbeds should be removed. The Council have met three times since then and, in what can only be described as a “reckless failure to uphold their duty of care to the local population,” each time they have failed to consider the issue or take action.

The sunbeds are making a profit of around £15,000 a year for the Vale Council.

Now that the authority is in recess over the summer it will be September, at the earliest, that the recommendation to remove them can be put back on the agenda.

It is a step in the right direction that the dangers of using sunbeds have been recognised by the Scrutiny Committee, but it is difficult to see why the council have not yet taken action. I sincerely hope it simply isn't down to the finance the sunbeds generate. Surely local authorities have a duty of care to the people they represent and a duty to promote public health don’t they?

The Vale is not the only Council to have sunbeds in its leisure centres – Wrexham and Flintshire also do and we have called on them to take action too. Leisure centres, especially those owned by local authorities, should be places where people go for healthy exercise and recreation. Local Authorities should be leading on health protection. It’s absurd that sunbeds are even there. Just one session a month will double the average individual's annual dose of ultraviolet radiation and it’s well known that this increases the risk of cancer, skin and eye problems in later life.

The BMA has been a strong advocate for increasing community access to local leisure facilities and playing fields and has called for increased provision and investment to secure their future.

If leisure centres wish to diversify the facilities on offer, this should not be to the detriment of health and well-being. For instance, the beauty studio at Penarth Leisure Centre should offer fake tan sprays rather than the two sunbeds it currently hosts.

BMA Cymru Wales has campaigned for the tanning industry to be regulated for many years and when we give evidence to National Assembly’s Health Committee next month this is exactly what we’ll be calling for. Across the board we’ll be asking for tough action on sunbeds - including unmanned and coin-operated ones.

In the meantime we are calling on the Vale, and other Councils to act responsibly on behalf of the people they represent by removing the sunbeds at the earliest opportunity.

Candid evidence on sunbeds gives more support to our fight for regulation of the industry

The Assembly’s Health, Wellbeing and Local Government Committee started hearing evidence yesterday into its inquiry into sunbed use in Wales. And it was certainly powerful evidence for the case FOR regulating the industry.

The mother of teenager Kirsty McRae who suffered 70% burns after using a coin-operated sunbed spoke to the committee of how worrying it is to not know what underlying damage may have been caused to her daughter’s skin, having been exposed to such a substantial dose of UV rays at a very young age. And the 14-year-old was able to use the sunbed without her parents’ knowledge and without anyone checking her age, because the very nature of these coin-operated machines means no members of staff needs to be present.

It’s partly because of cases like Kirsty’s that the committee is holding this inquiry, but it’s a shame that such extreme incidents have to happen, before even an inquiry is held, let alone action taken. As readers of this blog will know only too well, BMA Cymu Wales has campaigned for the tanning industry to be regulated for many years and in our evidence to the committee this is exactly what we’ll be calling for. We really can’t have any more repeat cases like Kirsty’s.

Will Government finally act on regulating the sunbed industry?

More support today for the BMA’s calls to get the tanning industry better regulated. The independent government advisory committee Comare (Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment) says the current system, where the industry is self-regulated, is inadequate on public health grounds.

The committee’s making several recommendations to Government, many of which we’ve been wanting to see happen for a long time.

These include;

Preventing the use of sun beds by children
Ensuring that sun bed users are supervised
Ending the use of coin-operated machines

The question is, will the UK Government act on these recommendations and actually finally do something about regulating the sunbed industry properly?

When will we get a change in the law on unmanned tanning salons?

Yet another case in the media of a child suffering horrific burns as a result of using a sunbed at an unmanned salon.

I have repeated BMA policy and what we want to see happen to prevent more instances of this countless times on this blog so I won't recount it all again. But really, when will we get a ban in place on these types of premises and how many more youngsters have to go through such serious injuries before something is done?

There is something terribly amiss with the law, if a child aged just 10-years-old can access these type of places, which can have such potentially damaging consequences for their health.

Light at the end of the tanning tunnel?

It's only a few days ago since I posted on here about the dangers of using sunbeds, citing the example of Zara Hovelsas. She's addicted to sunbeds, despite having had skin cancer and knowing using them, could eventually kill her.

I also pointed out the heavy campaigning work BMA Cymru Wales has undertaken to try and get tighter restrictions on the use of sunbeds.

So I'm absolutely delighted that the Welsh Health Minister has raised the matter of regulating the industry with the Department for Health in England. (WAG doesn't have power to legislate in this area).

Not only that, the Welsh Assembly Government's commissioning a study in Wales to estimate how much sunbeds are being used by young people.

Maybe we'll finally get the legislation we've been fighting for, it is certainly a step in the right direction anyway.