Tanning salons failing to check teens' sunbed use

Tanning salons are still putting teenagers at risk of skin disease by failing to check the age of sunbed users.

A third of tanning salons do not verify the age of customers, according to the latest research by health professionals.

Since April Last year it has been illegal to allow anyone under 18 to use a sunbed in a tanning salon. But research by the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) found that 32 per cent did not check whether a customer was old enough to do so. The findings will be presented at the CIEH's public health conference today.

Sunbed users are 75 oer cent more likely to develop skin cancer, which is the fastest-growing form of the disease in Britain. More than 1,800 people die from the disease and 9,000 cases are diagnosed every year.

The institute campaigned for tighter controls on the tanning industry after it became aware of teenagers with severe burns and blistering after using sunbeds.