Since 2009, artificial tanning booths have been classified in the group of “certain carcinogens to humans” by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). This did not prevent the development of this practice which follows an ascending curve, just like the number of melanomas (the most aggressive skin cancer) which is one of the cancers that has experienced the greatest increase in recent years in France.
Also, on the occasion of the National Day for the Prevention and Screening of Skin Cancer, the Minister of Social Affairs and Health, Marisol Touraine, recalled that one of the aspects of his bill to modernize the health system, strengthen the supervision of the practice of artificial tanning.
Several measures are planned:
– The ban on accommodating minors in tanning booths
– The ban on advertising these booths
– The ban on the sale or transfer of tanning devices to individuals
– Mandatory training for professionals who make tanning equipment available to the public on the health risks of exposure to UV radiation
– Reinforcement of user information on the dangers of artificial UV rays.
For its part, the National Cancer Institute insists that regulations enhance safety but cannot claim to eliminate the risk of cancer. The Institute recalls that a 15-minute session in a tanning booth in France corresponds to an exposure of the same duration on a Caribbean beach, without sun protection. The Inca also insists on the fact that any exposure, even occasional, can lead to cancer: “The available epidemiological studies do not allow us to identify a frequency below which the risk of skin cancer would not be increased. Several studies even showed an increase in this risk in people doing a session less than once a month. “
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