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Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety
1.1 Why an updated opinion on sunbeds?
Sunbeds for cosmetic purposes first appeared on the market in the seventies and have been widely used since the nineties. Therefore, it might seem sunbeds have withstood the test of time, as people are still using them. However, the consequences of using sunbeds can take years to develop and people may pay the consequences for having used sunbeds even long after they used them.
Sunbeds, like the sun, emit both UVA and UVB radiation. While UVB radiation is responsible for sunburns, both UVA and UVB radiation can damage the skin. Concerns about sunbed use have been raised for some time. Already a decade ago, in 2006, the Scientific Committee on Consumer Products published an Opinion on the biological effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) from sunbeds. At that time, the Committee concluded that the use of UVR devices for cosmetic tanning was likely to increase the risk of malignant melanoma of the skin and possibly ocular melanoma. Since then, there has been an increasing scientific evidence confirming that sunbeds do raise the risk of melanoma and other skin cancers, especially if sunbed users start using sunbeds before the age of 30. In 2009 and then in 2012, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classified exposure to UV radiation from the sun and from tanning devices as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1 of IARC classification). Studies suggest that sunbed use constitutes an additional risk for melanoma and negatively impact human health in other ways, such as accelerating skin ageing and weakening the immune system. It important to underline that the time lag between exposure to UV from any source and the occurrence of cancer may be several years.
Given the new data and particularly the IARC's classification of UV originated by sunbeds as carcinogenic, the European Commission asked the Scientific Committee on Health, Environmental and Emerging Risks (SCHEER) to review the topic again and provide an updated Opinion on the cancer risk associated to exposure to UV radiation in general and to UV generated by sunbeds in particular. For clarification, the term “sunbed” in this Opinion refers to all types of UV tanning devices for cosmetic purposes; sunbeds for medical purposes are outside the scope of this Opinion.
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1.2 What are the specific questions addressed by this updated Opinion?
The questions posed by the Commission in its mandate to the Scientific Committee are:
1. Does new scientific and medical evidence (collected over the past decade) have a significant impact on the conclusion of the previous 2006 Opinion {sccp_o_031b.pdf} with regard to the general health and safety implications relating to the exposure of people to UV radiation (UVR)?
If yes, what are the key elements to be considered and how is the health of users of tanning devices for cosmetic purposes (sunbeds) likely to be affected?
2. Does SCENIHR uphold the assessment of the 2006 Opinion that the limit value of the Erythemally-weighted irradiance of 0.3 W/m2 (equivalent to an UV index of 12) emitted by sunbeds ensures sufficient levels of protection for the health and safety of users?
3. What should be the wavelength range for which the total Erythemally-weighted irradiance should be negligible (e.g. under 0.003 W/ m2)
