BMJ 1995;310:1327 (20 May)

Letters

People are overusing sunbeds

EDITOR,--David Shuttleworth drew attention to the question of whether sunbeds that emit ultraviolet A radiation cause skin cancer.1 To determine the prevalence of use of sunbeds during 1994 the Department of Health commissioned the omnibus survey of the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys to interview British adults, who were randomly selected and stratified by socioeconomic variables. A balanced response rate of 76% was achieved, producing 2017 interviews. Of the 284 respondents aged 16-24, 68 (24%) had used a sunbed during the year, as had 106 (10%) of the 1056 respondents aged 25-54; the overall ratio of men to women who had used a sunbed was 7:11.

A total of 184 people had used sunbeds. Half had used them at home (ratio of hired to privately owned equipment 1:2), and half had used commercial facilities, with about one fifth of the total use of sunbeds occurring on local authority premises.

. . . [Full text of this article]


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This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Turner, R J, Farr, P M, Walshaw, D (1998). Many patients with psoriasis use sunbeds. BMJ 317: 412-412 [Full text]  
  • Wright, A., Hart, G., Kernohan, L. (1997). Dangers of sunbeds are greater in the commercial sector. BMJ 314: 1280-1280 [Full text]  
  • Dolin, P. (1995). Use of sunbeds increases risk of intraocular malignant melanoma. BMJ 311: 573b-573 [Full text]  
  • Newton, J., Redburn, J. (1995). Accuracy of local data on skin cancer. BMJ 311: 189a-189 [Full text]  
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