Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I concluded my contribution yesterday by saying it is important that the risk of exposure to UV rays be reduced as well as the incidence of skin cancer. There is a clear link between sunbeds and skin cancer. In 2009 the international agency for research on cancer placed sunbeds in the highest category for cancer risk and rated sunbeds to be as carcinogenic as tobacco and plutonium.

Today's meeting of the Joint Committee on Health is dealing with the legislation to provide for plain packaging for tobacco products. The tobacco companies are attending the meeting to discuss this legislation. We need to tackle the issue of sunbed use in tandem with that of cigarette smoking. The World Health Organisation reclassified sunbed use from what was termed a group 2A carcinogen which is probably carcinogenic to humans, to group 1 carcinogen which means it is carcinogenic to humans. This is an extraordinary reclassification because it firmly links sunbed use with cancer.

Deputy Alex White is the Minister of State with responsibility for primary care and it is appropriate that he is here. We need to send a message to parents that it is not acceptable for young children to be exposed to UV rays through the use of sunbeds in preparation for first holy communion or confirmation, debs or grads. That message must go out from this House.

The British Association of Dermatologists has advised that certain groups should never use sunbeds. These include those under the age of 18; those with fair, freckled skin that does not tan with exposure to the sun; those with a large number of moles; those with a history of skin cancer; those with abnormal sensitivity to the sun due to photo-sensitive diseases such as sun allergy; those on certain medications. These groups comprise a significant swathe of people.

I wish we could ban sunbeds altogether. I stand corrected but as of now, anyone can set up a tanning salon because there are no regulatory restrictions on the type of equipment. In 2012, the Irish Cancer Society conducted a secret shopper survey which showed that seven out of ten tanning shops would allow a fair-skinned child use a sunbed without any advice or warning. Deputy Billy Kelleher referred to the use of goggles and other types of protection used. I ask if there are regulations in place to ensure eye protection is used. There is no regulation of the use of sunbeds. All that is required for these devices to be used is to have a strategic location for a tanning salon.

We must aim to reduce the risk of cancer and implement customer safety standards which will allow the National Consumer Agency to take measures against products posing a serious risk to the health and safety of consumers. This Bill will provide for those standards and it will provide for robust measures to deal with the risk and threats from sunbed use.

Some will argue that sunbeds are beneficial in that they give access to UV rays which are converted into vitamin D. However, unless one never ventures out of house, one will get sufficient vitamin D to avoid any deficiency. Even those who attempt to argue for the benefits of sunbeds cannot argue the case that they should be unregulated. At the very minimum their use needs to be regulated.

The Bill prohibits the use of sunbeds by people under the age of 18 either in a tanning shop or in a similar premises. This is in keeping with the World Health Organisation recommendations. It also prohibits the use of sunbeds in unsupervised premises; it makes it mandatory that sunbed operators make users fully aware of the risks involved; and it requires warning signs to be put in place in all sunbed locations.

What regulation will govern the training for those who provide these services? This aspect could be examined on Committee Stage. Thankfully, the trend for sunbed use is decreasing, down from 9% of the population to 4% in 2010. A source of concern is that 88% of sunbed users are women. The age categories of users of sunbeds are those between the ages of 15 and 24 and 35 to 49. I think those categories puts all of us in this Chamber in those risk categories. I hope all of us would avoid the use of sunbeds.

I refer to a study on sunbed use by adolescent girls carried out in Cork by Mairead McDonnell. The girls, aged 17 and 18 spoke about their experience of and attitude to the use of sunbeds. Among the main findings were that 28% of the respondents had used sunbeds. Of these, 71% had first used a sunbed between the ages of 14 and 16 and 8% had used a sunbed before the age of 14. The youngest age for reported use was ten years and there was an association between sunbed usage in respondents and family sunbed usage.

Home was the most common place where sunbeds were used. The percentages were 35% in the home and 28% a combination of beauty salon and the home. The author of the report said this is worrying as sunbeds in the home are unsupervised with no control on the length of time they are being used in terms frequency of use and on wearing eye protection. Only 37% of sunbeds users received advice from a member of staff when using the equipment in the salon and one third occasionally did not use eye protection, which is a worrying trend on top of what we have heard already.

The key findings around attitudes in this group were that 62% felt a tan made them look healthy, 68% said a tan made them look and feel more confident, 85% said they considered sunbeds to be harmful and 87% said they agreed that sunbeds can cause skin cancer. The relationship between sunbed use and beliefs shows that the issue should be tackled by Government. Sunbed users seem to be more tolerant of sunbeds and they see them in a more positive light than those of us who do not use them. A point which should be made is that non-users seem to be more aware and better informed of the negative effects and consequences of repeated sunbed use.

To go back to the survey, when asked if sunbeds should be used to get freckles, 43% said that they were unsure. People who get freckles are recommended never to use sunbeds. The author of the report recommended that legislation should be backed up by education on sunbed usage - that is, in schools, whether through social, political and health education, and in a media campaign for children and adults along with a public health campaign in this area.

It is appropriate that the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children dealt with plan packaging for cigarettes and the use of tobacco today. We heard the tobacco industry say it never targeted young people and that it was not interested in doing so. Those involved in operating sunbeds would probably make the same claim. However, we cannot dispute or ignore the fact there is a clear link between using sunbeds and melanoma and skin cancer. That is why I am particularly pleased this legislation has come before the House ahead of the summer season - a time when many are getting ready to go on holiday. This legislation is about protecting young people, in particular, by regulating the use of sunbeds. One would think it would be a given that people would not use sunbeds but unfortunately that is not the case.

In its briefing document, the Irish Cancer Society gave a very striking statistic that people who start to use sunbeds before the age of 30 have a 75% increased risk of malignant melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer. That figure cannot be ignored or downplayed. Buy-in is required from sunbed operators who need to be brought along on this journey. The Irish Cancer Society said seven out of ten tanning shops would allow a fair skinned child to use a sunbed without any warning or advice. How can that be justified?

I welcome this important legislation which will perhaps not get much prominence in the national media and may go unnoticed but it will send a very strong message that this Government is concerned about public health. The Bill will afford protection to all citizens. We need to have an efficient and effective enforcement regime. That is why clarity is required in regard to enforcement. The Minister said the HSE will establish a list of sunbed businesses and the Bill will include a notification system where those operating sunbeds, whether the seller or the hirer, will have to notify the HSE and that there will be a notification fee involved. That is welcome but follow up is required in terms of enforcement of the legislation and training for staff in salons. Is the fine of €4,000 for a first offence - a class B fine - sufficient? We are talking about the lives of people and about public health in respect of a group of people who use sunbeds. The Minister spoke about a sunbed non-compliance list which would be a bit like the Revenue Commissioner's list of those who have not paid their taxes.

This is a first step which is about protecting children from the harmful effects of sunbeds and ensuring adults make informed choices. I welcome the Bill and hope it will pass and that we will see further public health measures around the area of cancer.

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