Katy moves on commercial solariums

The 20% increase in commercial rates would have toasted them anyway.

Diggety said :

@RadioVK, quotes are messy so I’ll respond seperately.

If you are suggesting better regulation of solariums, I completely agree. In fact, I’ve raised this issue and suggested effective regulation through various forms of correspondence to policy makers and academics in the field.

I think groups like the Cancer Council should not be advocating bans, they should be focused on providing quality advice for the use of available UV sources. It wouldn’t be wrong for them to identify solariums as a cancer reducing device, providing they are used correctly.

Like you say, the solarium industry should accept blame for bad practice, but a blanket ban effects not only the industry – but their customers too. The ban also has the potential for a negative health outcomes, presuming people use solar irradiation as a source of UV in place of solariums.

A ban may be a bit heavy handed, and I agree that people should be able to make an informed decision to use a solarium if they wish to.

I still don’t believe that they are safe, and it’s my informed decision not to use one. Certainly the currently available evidence (and there is a lot of it) seems to back up that decision.

The solarium industry had it’s chance, and they blew it, leaving the government with the option of either spending more money on tighter regulation, or an outright ban. Is it any surprise which option they picked.

@RadioVK, quotes are messy so I’ll respond seperately.

If you are suggesting better regulation of solariums, I completely agree. In fact, I’ve raised this issue and suggested effective regulation through various forms of correspondence to policy makers and academics in the field.

I think groups like the Cancer Council should not be advocating bans, they should be focused on providing quality advice for the use of available UV sources. It wouldn’t be wrong for them to identify solariums as a cancer reducing device, providing they are used correctly.

Like you say, the solarium industry should accept blame for bad practice, but a blanket ban effects not only the industry – but their customers too. The ban also has the potential for a negative health outcomes, presuming people use solar irradiation as a source of UV in place of solariums.

Diggety said :

RadioVK said :

Diggety said :

RadioVK said :

As someone who has seen a family member go through literally dozens of surgeries to remove persistent skin cancers (fortunately successfully), I think that anyone who would voluntarily subject themselves to a tanning bed is a bloody idiot.

Really? I think anyone not following instruction is a bloody idiot. I also think anyone banning these devices is a bloody idiot and an abuser of power.

A solarium is a far safer way to avoid skin cancer than the sun, because it is a source reliable dosage. However, one must follow professional advise for their use.

They don’t need to be banned, they need to be used appropriately – just like any other product one may encounter.

The Cancer Council would disagree with you there.

“Contrary to what some people believe, solariums are not ‘safe tanning’ devices. Research has shown that they increase your risk of developing skin cancer including melanoma. A recent study by The International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that using solarium regularly before the age of 30 boosted ones risk of developing melanoma by 75% and also increased the risk of squamous cell carcinoma. An even more recent study suggested that the increased risk of melanoma could be as much as 98%.”
(From the Cancer Council ACT website)

The government bans or regulates plenty of other potential carcinogens without a fuss. Are you really surprised that this one has finally got the same treatment.

Paraclesus laid the foundation for modern toxicology with the following advice:

“All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; only the dose permits something not to be poisonous.”

Or, every substances known to man is lethal, it just depends on the dosage. You can observe this advice all around you; nutrition tables on your cereal pack, instructions on your medication, safety advice on your power tools, health info on your box of beers.

In the natural plants, animals and ecological systems regulate to the environment; plants adjust themselves for optimal photosynthesis, animals regulate oxygen intake via a respitory system, your own brain is held within a temperature range of just a few degrees to let you think clearly.

How does this make solariums safer than the sun for UV irradiance? A solarium is a source of reliable and constant dosage – the sun is not, because it fluctuates minute to minute and there is unlikely to be expert advise on hand to tell you when you’ve received too much.

I accept that some among us have misused solariums to the point where they have caused adverse health effects, but the majority of participants have not. So is it right that a few retards spoil it for the rest of us and leave us to use a less healthy source of UV?

I know banning things that can be dangerous sounds logical, but it only considers one half of Paraclesus’ advice. All this could be avoided one follows simple instructions.[/quote>

You make some very good points.

However…

The fact remains that research shows the use of a tanning bed leads to signifigant increases in the risk of cancer. If, as you say, tanning beds are perfectly safe when used correctly, the logical conclusion is that despite industry regulation, they are not being used correctly.

Assuming that they are as safe as you say, then the users, and ultimately the solarium operators are the ones to blame. These people are the ones you should really be blaming for the ban, not the government.

I don’t know what Diggety is talking about but can a solarium treat for vitamin D deficiency? Because some people don’t tolerate pills very well and it’s too cold to go in the sun.

RadioVK said :

Diggety said :

RadioVK said :

As someone who has seen a family member go through literally dozens of surgeries to remove persistent skin cancers (fortunately successfully), I think that anyone who would voluntarily subject themselves to a tanning bed is a bloody idiot.

Really? I think anyone not following instruction is a bloody idiot. I also think anyone banning these devices is a bloody idiot and an abuser of power.

A solarium is a far safer way to avoid skin cancer than the sun, because it is a source reliable dosage. However, one must follow professional advise for their use.

They don’t need to be banned, they need to be used appropriately – just like any other product one may encounter.

The Cancer Council would disagree with you there.

“Contrary to what some people believe, solariums are not ‘safe tanning’ devices. Research has shown that they increase your risk of developing skin cancer including melanoma. A recent study by The International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that using solarium regularly before the age of 30 boosted ones risk of developing melanoma by 75% and also increased the risk of squamous cell carcinoma. An even more recent study suggested that the increased risk of melanoma could be as much as 98%.”
(From the Cancer Council ACT website)

The government bans or regulates plenty of other potential carcinogens without a fuss. Are you really surprised that this one has finally got the same treatment.

[quote comment=”4

No, what you’ve quoted from the Cancer Council does not conflict with what I said. I accept that solariums are potentially dangerous, but only if they are misused.

Wherever you are right now RadioVK, there are likely several carcinogenic substances within meters. Whatever you can see in front of you is potentially lethal, it just depends on the dosage.

500 years ago, Paraclesus laid the foundation for modern toxicology with the following advice:

“All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; only the dose permits something not to be poisonous.”

Or, every substances known to man is lethal, it just depends on the dosage. You can observe this advice all around you; nutrition tables on your cereal pack, instructions on your medication, safety advice on your power tools, health info on your box of beers.

In the natural plants, animals and ecological systems regulate to the environment; plants adjust themselves for optimal photosynthesis, animals regulate oxygen intake via a respitory system, your own brain is held within a temperature range of just a few degrees to let you think clearly.

How does this make solariums safer than the sun for UV irradiance? A solarium is a source of reliable and constant dosage – the sun is not, because it fluctuates minute to minute and there is unlikely to be expert advise on hand to tell you when you’ve received too much.

I accept that some among us have misused solariums to the point where they have caused adverse health effects, but the majority of participants have not. So is it right that a few retards spoil it for the rest of us and leave us to use a less healthy source of UV?

I know banning things that can be dangerous sounds logical, but it only considers one half of Paraclesus’ advice. All this could be avoided one follows simple instructions.

Diggety said :

RadioVK said :

As someone who has seen a family member go through literally dozens of surgeries to remove persistent skin cancers (fortunately successfully), I think that anyone who would voluntarily subject themselves to a tanning bed is a bloody idiot.

Really? I think anyone not following instruction is a bloody idiot. I also think anyone banning these devices is a bloody idiot and an abuser of power.

A solarium is a far safer way to avoid skin cancer than the sun, because it is a source reliable dosage. However, one must follow professional advise for their use.

They don’t need to be banned, they need to be used appropriately – just like any other product one may encounter.

The Cancer Council would disagree with you there.

“Contrary to what some people believe, solariums are not ‘safe tanning’ devices. Research has shown that they increase your risk of developing skin cancer including melanoma. A recent study by The International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that using solarium regularly before the age of 30 boosted ones risk of developing melanoma by 75% and also increased the risk of squamous cell carcinoma. An even more recent study suggested that the increased risk of melanoma could be as much as 98%.”
(From the Cancer Council ACT website)

The government bans or regulates plenty of other potential carcinogens without a fuss. Are you really surprised that this one has finally got the same treatment.

Continued research into the negative health effects of tanning bed use has prompted the World Health Organization to classify tanning beds as a group 1 carcinogen, alongside tobacco smoking and asbestos.

Alcoholic beverages, salted fish, wood dust, diesel smoke, sunshine and working as a painter are also classified as group 1 carcinogens. Group 1 just contains anything where there is sufficient evidence that it causes cancer in humans, it doesn’t rate on how likely it is to do so, the amount needed to cause it or whether there are other reasons for using it or doing the activity.

And they’ll prise my beer out of my cold, dead, cancerous hands.

Diggety said :

RadioVK said :

As someone who has seen a family member go through literally dozens of surgeries to remove persistent skin cancers (fortunately successfully), I think that anyone who would voluntarily subject themselves to a tanning bed is a bloody idiot.

Really? I think anyone not following instruction is a bloody idiot. I also think anyone banning these devices is a bloody idiot and an abuser of power.

A solarium is a far safer way to avoid skin cancer than the sun, because it is a source reliable dosage. However, one must follow professional advise for their use.

They don’t need to be banned, they need to be used appropriately – just like any other product one may encounter.

THIS. So much this.

RadioVK said :

As someone who has seen a family member go through literally dozens of surgeries to remove persistent skin cancers (fortunately successfully), I think that anyone who would voluntarily subject themselves to a tanning bed is a bloody idiot.

Really? I think anyone not following instruction is a bloody idiot. I also think anyone banning these devices is a bloody idiot and an abuser of power.

A solarium is a far safer way to avoid skin cancer than the sun, because it is a source reliable dosage. However, one must follow professional advise for their use.

They don’t need to be banned, they need to be used appropriately – just like any other product one may encounter.