Doctors in the US are seeking to ban children from using tanning salons amidst increased rates of skin cancer.
The American Academy of Pediatrics is asking local, state and federal governments to pass a law banning youngsters from tanning booths. It also wants more prominent campaigns to warn children and their parents of the dangers of sunbeds.
The Academy said: Public awareness of the risk is not optimal, overall compliance with sun protection is inconsistent, and melanoma rates continue to rise.
'The risk of skin cancer increases when people over-expose themselves to the sun and intentionally expose themselves to artificial sources of ultra-violet radiation.
'Yet people continue to sunburn, and teenagers and adults alike remain frequent visitors to tanning parlours.'
A study of US youngsters discovered that one in ten children aged between 11 to 18 reported having used a sun-lamp in the past 12 months, despite the known association with an increased risks of melanoma and other skin cancers.
What do you think?
Should children be tanning at all, be it sunbeds, spray tans or from a bottle?
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