Sun lamps unnecessary risk — Cancer Society

Press, 29 January 1982, Page 12

Sun lamps unnecessary risk — Cancer Society

PA Wellington Some people using sun lamps at home or at suntanning centres may be taking unnecessary risks, says the Cancer Society. The society’s education officer, Mr John Gaiser, said that sun lamps emitted powerful ultra-violet rays, the same as those given by the sun. In large doses ultraviolet rays could cause skin cancer. Most sun lamps came with full working instructions. However, he was concerned that some people might be tempted to over-expose their bodies. “The Cancer Society usually recommends that people who spend more than a quarter of an hour in the sun should wear a sunscreen to prevent skin damage,” he said.

All sun lamps were supplied with plastic eye goggles and all lamp users were advised to wear them, he said.

The range of sun lamps available produced varying forms of ultra-violet radiation — U.V.A. or U.V.8., or a combination of both. “The so-called ‘safe’ tans are produced by U.V.A. but they are cosmetic only and fade fast,” he said. “This leaves the skin with no protection against damage from natural sunlight and people will therefore bum in the sun just as fast as they would normally. “Neither are dermatologists convinced of the safety of the U.V.A. lamps, since no human population has experienced long-term exposure to this part of the ultra-violet spectrum.”

Mr Gaiser said that U.V.B, t lamps emulated the sun and' had the same skin-damaging effects.

“Because New Zealanders already get more ultra-violet radiation than they need our advice is to minimise exposure to all forms of ultraviolet light,” he said.

A Wellington spokesman for a sun’ lamp manufacturer, Mr I. S. MacKenzie, said that using a sun lamp was safer than spending all day in the sun, where the time and intensity of rays could not be regulated.

Mr MacKenzie, who heads the consumer products division for Philips Electrical Industries of N.Z., Ltd, said that the product users also tended to be conscious of their skin safety.