Legislation currently being drafted to regulate the use of sunbeds in Ireland does not go far enough as it does not cover home usage, a doctor has warned.

According to Dr Mairead McDonnell of the department of anatomy and neuroscience in University College Cork, sunbeds are classified as a class one carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), ‘putting them on a par with cigarette smoking'.

"People who have ever used a sunbed have a 15% increased risk of melanoma skin cancer, while those who first used a sunbed under the age of 30 years increase their risk of melanoma by 75%," she explained.

Figures from the Irish Cancer Society indicate that some 140,000 people in Ireland use sunbeds regularly. Most of these are women and one in five are aged between 15 and 34.

While the Government recently approved the drafting of legislation to regulate sunbed use, including banning the use of these beds by people under the age of 18, this legislation does not regulate home use.

Dr McDonnell decided to take a closer look at this issue. She carried out a study involving almost 200 teenage girls in four different secondary schools in Cork. She wanted to assess the level of sunbed use among the teenagers and their attitudes to this issue.

Most of the participants were aged 17 and 18 and at least one in four admitted to using sunbeds. Among these, three in four had used a sunbed for the first time between the ages of 14 and 16, while almost one in 10 were under the age of 14. The youngest age at first use was 10 years.

Almost half of the teens using sunbeds had family members who also used them. In most cases, it was the mother of the participant.

The study revealed that home was the most common place where sunbeds were accessed. Some 35% of the girls used sunbeds at home compared to 28% in beauty salons.

"This is worrying as sunbeds in the home are unsupervised, with no control on length of time they are being used, frequency of use, wearing of eye protection etc...," Dr McDonnell said.

Meanwhile among those who had used a tanning salon, just 37% said they had received advice about sunbed use from a member of staff. And at least one in 10 experienced skin problems after, such as dry skin.

While most of the participants were aware of the link between sunbeds and skin cancer, around two-thirds felt that a tan makes people look more healthy and gives you confidence.

Dr McDonnell noted a high number of ‘not sure' responses, for example, almost half of respondents were unsure whether people with freckles should use sunbeds.

She said that this indicated that there is a lack of knowledge regarding the use of sunbeds and a lack of understanding about different skin types.

"Regulation in this area is long overdue. The legislation currently being drafted is to regulate use and to prevent under-18s using sunbeds, however this does not regulate home usage, which is a big problem," Dr McDonnell said.

She insisted that legislation should be backed up by education regarding sunbed usage, for example, in schools and the media.

"A public health campaign would be very beneficial in this area," she added.

Details of this study are published in Forum, the journal of the Irish College of General Practitioners.