The Council of State maintains the decree of the Ministry of Health. Tanning booths must display health information for the consumer.
The Council of State agrees with the Ministry of Health. Seizure by representatives of indoor tanning professionals, the institution sliced in favor of security. Merchants will be required to post information relating to the safety of artificial ultraviolet rays. The measure is all the more justified as the devices increase the risk of skin cancer.
“A direct link”
The National Union of Cabin Tanning Professionals, the National Confederation of Aesthetics and Perfumery, and a company in the sector are at the origin of this referral. They attacked a decree of December 2013, which regulates the sale and provision of tanning booths. The text obliges the manufacturers of the devices to display various information and warnings on the health effects of their use. The sector, which represents 22,000 jobs, does not agree and has tried to have the text canceled.
However, the Council of State considers this health information necessary. Several studies and institutions “establish a direct link between exposure to ultraviolet rays, in particular to artificial ultraviolet rays, and the occurrence of skin cancer, in particular melanoma”, specifies the administrative court. In fact, 200 cases of melanoma are attributable to the devices each year, as well as 40 to 50 deaths.
Ministry abuse
The provisions imposed by the Ministry of Health have a preventive purpose: they are supposed to warn the consumer of the risks associated with excessive exposure to UV rays. Limiting the power of devices also reduces these dangers. So many measures which are “not disproportionate”, according to the Council of State. He therefore reinforces the ministry in its position.
However, the experts note an abuse on the part of the drafters of the decree. A single exposure to artificial UV increases the risk of skin cancer by 60%: this is what the manufacturers should have said. But the Council of State points to the inaccuracy of this statement: it is based on a 2012 study, which concludes that this exposure increases the risk by 59%… without dose precision. This provision will therefore be canceled. For the rest, indoor tanning professionals will have to comply with the application decree.
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