A ban on sunbeds could reduce the number of deaths from deadly skin cancer, a new study shows.
Researchers from the University of Manchester found that a ban on indoor tanning would result in 1,206 fewer cases of melanoma - the worst form of skin cancer - and 207 fewer deaths.
In addition, it would result in 3,987 fewer cases of other more common types of skin cancer which "impose a major burden on both affected patients and the NHS."
The study, published in the British Journal of Dermatology, tracked 618,000 18-year-olds living in England in 2019.
It is currently legal in the UK for anyone over the age of 18 to use indoor tanning beds. Findings also estimate that more than 60,000 children in England under the age of 18 use the potentially harmful tanning beds.
Paul Lorigan, a Professor of Oncology at The University of Manchester, said: “If the NHS invested in a public health campaign to support the ban on sunbeds, we estimate that melanoma and other skin cancers would be significantly reduced, NHS resources would be saved and deaths averted.
“It is quite clear that melanoma and keratinocyte skin cancers have a significant impact on population health and healthcare budgets, and that a proportion are attributable to indoor tanning. Anyone who has used a sunbed increases their risk of melanoma by almost 60% .
“We show quite conclusively for the first time that banning indoor tanning supported by a public health campaign would be an efficient use of healthcare resources to reduce melanoma and other skin cancers in England."
The results build on previous studies of the effect of similar legislation on healthcare in North America, Europe and Australia and add to the growing body of evidence supporting a total ban on commercial sunbeds.
Though the International Agency for Research in Cancer in 2009 declared that the ultraviolet radiation from commercial indoor tanning devices causes cancer in humans , it is currently legal for anyone over the age of 18 to use indoor tanning devices in the UK.
Despite some evidence of decreasing use, the practice of indoor tanning is still widespread in many countries including the UK.
Sunbed use is especially high in the north-west and in cities with greater social deprivation; its popularity is thought to partly explain the unusually high rates of melanoma seen among young women living in the north-west..
Professor Adele Green, from The University of Manchester, said: “We already know that indoor tanning devices are strongly linked to melanoma and other skin cancers with resulting morbidity, mortality and increased healthcare costs.
“But policy-makers require robust economic evidence to inform decisions about a possible ban of such devices to mitigate these burdens. We feel we have succeeded in providing that evidence.”
The study's findings coincide Melanoma Awareness Month in May.
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