Tanning beds 'killing 43 Aussies a year'

Melbourne, October 5 : Tanning beds have been held responsible for killing 43 Australians a year, according to a new report.

According to the study, the '43 a year' death toll is through melanoma alone.

The study found the beds are responsible for another 2600 annual skin cancer diagnoses.

"Unlike sun exposure, solaria are an entirely tractable factor contributing to melanoma," News.com.au quoted Professor Simon Chapman, from the University of Sydney's School of Public Health, as saying.

Researchers in Brisbane and Sydney have presented a case for the Federal Government regulations demanding either the ban or a sharp limited access to tanning solaria.

A team at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research have used a British mathematical model and estimated sun beds are responsible for 281 cases of melanoma each year, including 121 cases in Queensland, 75 in New South Wales and 51 in Victoria. Overall, 43 of these patients die

Dr Louisa Gordon wrote in the Medical Journal of Australia: "The annual cost to the health system - predominantly Medicare Australia - for these avoidable skin cancer cases and deaths is about 3 million dollars.

"By successfully enforcing solarium regulations that ban use by people under 18 or with fair skin, favourable health and cost benefits could be expected."

While, Dr. Gordon preferred a federal regulation, Professor Chapman thinks a total ban as an ideal situation - a thought shared by Oliver herself.

He regrets the action as a 'missed opportunity', which did not happen during her campaign, and supports that the decision to terminate solaria would be a welcoming one.

He said: "Their demise would almost certainly be applauded by many in the community and nearly everyone in cancer control."

The review also revealed that while solarium-related businesses had increased to four times in most Australian cities, it was startling six times more in Melbourne since 1992.

Tests by scientists at Australia's nuclear safety agency further showed that most beds have UV radiation intensity three times stronger than the midday summer sun in Brisbane.

ANI