P.E.I. pushed to regulate tanning beds

The P.E.I. division of the Canadian Cancer Society is hoping a new study on tanning beds will help with its lobby to see them regulated.

'No one under the age of 18 should be allowed to use them.' — Dawn Binns, Canadian Cancer Society

A study published in the British medical journal Lancet Oncology this week concluded there's no doubt tanning beds and sun lamps are carcinogenic, and as a result of those findings the World Health Organization upgraded its health warning on the devices. It placed them in the highest risk category for cancer, along with tobacco smoke and hepatitis B.

Dawn Binns, executive director of the cancer society on P.E.I., said her group has been lobbying for provincial regulations for some time.

"If you're using tanning beds you can have an increased risk of up to 75 per cent of developing melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer," said Binns.

"No one under the age of 18 should be allowed to use them, consent or no consent. We feel that certainly among young people the increased risk is just not one we want to put forward."

Tanning bed manufacturers say the risks are being exaggerated, and that the beds are safe when used responsibly.