Sun worshippers warned of ‘binge tanning’ on holiday

Over a third of under-25s are risking getting cancer as they spend too much time in the sun, in what experts are calling a ‘binge tanning’ epidemic.

In a study by Cancer Research UK, it was found that young holidaymakers were oblivious to the damage that spending upwards of five hours a day could do to their skin.

Around a third of those polled said that they used low-factor suncream as they thought it would speed up their tanning, and the same number reckoned that they would up their hours in the sunshine if they thought their tan wasn’t up to scratch.

Other statistics gathered in the survey include 19% ditching the sunblock altogether, and a worrying 15% opting for baby oil as an aid to frying their skin in the sun.

The study also showed that a minority of holiday-goers wouldn’t be bothered if they got sunburnt.

ITV.com quoted Cancer Research UK’s dermatologist, Professor Lesley Rhodes, as saying: “Exposure to ultraviolet radiation from the sun is the primary cause of skin cancer and responsible for around 80 per cent of cases of melanoma, the most dangerous kind of skin cancer.

“In addition to the short term discomfort and impact on appearance, sunburn also causes permanent irreversible damage leading to premature ageing and significantly increases the risk of skin cancer.

“Put simply, the more time young people are spending in the sun, the more damage they are doing to their skin.”

Source: ITV.com

Pic: Morguefile