Australia bans commercial sun beds over cancer fears
1 Jan 2015 10:11 PM GMT
The ban which comes into force in the states of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, Queensland and in the Australian Capital Territory on January 1 will make Australia the second nation after Brazil to impose such a restriction, campaigners said.
Western Australia has said it would also implement a ban, though it has yet to announce a start date. There are no commercial solariums in the only other part of Australia, the hot and humid Northern Territory.
Cancer Council Australia welcomed the ban, which it has long pushed for, adding that it would help to reduce rates of skin cancer, which affects two out of three Australians by age 70.
“Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world,” advocacy director Paul Grogan said in a statement to AFP.
“Solariums expose users to extremely highly levels of UV (ultraviolet) radiation, greatly increasing their risk of melanoma and other skin cancers.” Australia is sometimes referred to as the sun burnt country, where beaches are thronged with bathers basking under blue skies and the rates of melanoma, a potentially fatal form of skin cancer, are the highest in the world.
Western Australia has said it would also implement a ban, though it has yet to announce a start date. There are no commercial solariums in the only other part of Australia, the hot and humid Northern Territory.
Cancer Council Australia welcomed the ban, which it has long pushed for, adding that it would help to reduce rates of skin cancer, which affects two out of three Australians by age 70.
“Australia has one of the highest rates of skin cancer in the world,” advocacy director Paul Grogan said in a statement to AFP.
“Solariums expose users to extremely highly levels of UV (ultraviolet) radiation, greatly increasing their risk of melanoma and other skin cancers.” Australia is sometimes referred to as the sun burnt country, where beaches are thronged with bathers basking under blue skies and the rates of melanoma, a potentially fatal form of skin cancer, are the highest in the world.
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