Robin Chapple welcomes the ban on tanning beds in Victoria, and asks why WA hasn’t taken action yet given that health impacts have been known for years.
“Back in 2008 the Radiation Health Committee, on which I served and comprised of radiation health experts from each State and Territory, looked at the health effects of using solariums and the options of regulating the use of solaria”, Mr Chapple said.
“We had concluded that these beds needed to be phased out as the health costs to the Nation were too great.
“This followed on from a seminar on solaria in November 2007 by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA), where a set of principles were developed to assist in national uniformity in regulating the use of solariums.
“The then Health Minister Jim McGinty, acknowledged in 2008 that there was compelling evidence that people who used solarium tanning beds increased their risk of skin cancer, however national uniform regulations were never introduced.
“We know through studies that people under the age of 35 who use solariums increase their risk of forming melanoma skin cancer, the rarest but deadliest form of skin cancer, by an alarming 98 per cent.
“The NSW, SA, TAS and now VIC Governments have all finally acknowledged the evidence that artificial tanning is extremely dangerous, and have effectively introduced bans on tanning beds.
“Unfortunately the WA Government has consistently been scared of stepping on anyone’s toes, and would rather support growing investment in the tanning industry than the health of Western Australians”, concluded Mr Chapple.
For more information please contact Robin Chapple on 0409 379 263 or 9486 8255
