Solariums - Major Contributor to Skin Cancer

We're all guilty of wanting a tan from time to time. There is still stigma that a tan makes you look healthy and sexy especially with our young population.

Everyday, thousands of young men and women take their chances and subject their bodies to powerful solarium rays as they feel it is a replication of the sun.

Don't follow the fads. A lust for a tan and time in solariums can contribute to skin cancer. Solarium rays are five times more powerful than the midday sun and we all know how lethal the sun can be.

Melanomas kill more young Australians than any other cancer and the main culprit has always been the sun.

We all know the dangers of the sun but the message about those same destructive rays duplicated in solariums is not being understood. Doctors say it's time the public understood solariums are also dangerous and must share the blame.

Oncologist and specialist in melanoma Dr Grant Macarthur said to 60 Minutes "there is a direct link between solariums and skin cancer. All the major studies have been analysed and the conclusions are clear".

The Australasian College of Dermatology says it is not clear that there is such thing as a safe dose of sun.

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