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Artificial Suntanning

Exposure to UV, either naturally from the sun or from artificial sources such as sunlamps, is a known risk factor for skin cancer.

Short-wavelength UVB (280-315 nm) has been recognized for some time as carcinogenic in experimental animals, and there is increasing evidence that longer-wavelength UVA (315-400 nm) used in sun beds, which penetrates more deeply into the skin, also contributes to the induction of cancer. A study conducted in Norway and Sweden showed a significant increase in the risk of malignant melanoma among women who had regularly used sun beds.

Additional exposure to UV from sun beds is likely to enhance the well-known detrimental consequences of excessive solar UV exposure. There is no evidence to suggest that UV exposure from any type of sun bed is less harmful than UV exposure from the sun.

Pre-cancerous actinic keratoses and Bowen’s disease have also been found in sunlight-protected but sun bed exposed skin in fair-skinned users after just two to three years of regular sun bed use.
(WHO, 2009)

About Sunbeds

Sun beds emit predominantly UVA and some UVB, both of which can damage the DNA in cells of the skin. However, in recent years, lamps of sun beds have been manufactured that produce higher levels of UVB to mimic the solar spectrum and speed the tanning process.

While UVB has well known carcinogenic properties and whose excessive exposure is known to lead to the development of skin cancers, recent scientific studies suggest that high exposures to the longer wavelength UVA could also have an impact on skin cancer occurrence.

As with sun exposure, recent studies indicate a relationship between the use of sun beds and malignant melanoma as well as non-melanoma skin cancers such as squamous and basal cell carcinomas. Thus, the consequences of regular sun bed use may include disfigurement from removal of skin cancers, early death if the cancer is a malignant melanoma, as well as substantial costs to national health systems for screening, treating and monitoring skin cancer patients.
(WHO, 2009)