farmdoc's blog post number 179

Undoubtedly the music of the Beach Boys evokes images of youth, surf, sex and sun. When I was in my teens and twenties, Beach Boys music was big time; and it was fashionable to sunbathe because a suntan was hip. Indeed the deeper the tan, the hipper its owner. And the more cancerous too. It’s been known for decades that exposure to ultraviolet rays causes skin cancer. Cancer Council Australia’s Slip Slop Slap campaign is an excellent, and effective, public health response. I suspect outdoor sunbathing is much rarer these days – due to that campaign, it’s no longer cool to be seen sunbathing outdoors. But apparently in some circles a suntan is still desirable. Folks, welcome to the indoor solarium industry. A paper in the current MJA tells us the number of solarium-related businesses has increased 4-6 times since 1992; in 2006 about 400,000 Australians used solaria (of whom 35% used one 1-4 times per fortnight), and the use was higher among women and adolescents. Excluding Tasmania, solarium use is responsible for – each year – 281 new melanoma cases, 43 melanoma deaths (Clare Oliver being a recent high profile example), and 2,572 new squamous cell carcinoma cases. The paper’s authors recommend banning of solarium use by people younger than 18 years, and people of all ages with fair skin. My view? Ban solaria altogether.