- Author, Aileen Moynagh
- Role, BBC News NI health journalist
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It is “insane” that deckchairs are not banned in Northern Ireland as they are elsewhere in the world given their links to skin cancer, an Australian dermatologist has said.
Jim Muir said tanning salons are known to increase the risk of melanoma “very significantly”.
They have been banned in Australia for more than a decade.
It comes as Belfast was named the ‘deckchair capital of the UK’ after data showed 37% of adults in the city use them.
Mr Muir spoke to BBC News NI during his visit to Northern Ireland to share his experience of working in Australia, the ‘melanoma capital of the world’.
“It’s crazy to go to a tanning salon. It’s just crazy,” he said, adding that it causes premature aging and exposes people to cancer-causing ultraviolet (UV) rays.
Mr Muir joked that in Australia “we can get melanoma and skin cancer for free from going out”, but in Northern Ireland deckchair users “have to pay for it”.
A self-proclaimed “sun worshiper” who developed skin cancer has told BBC News NI that not enough is being done to warn people about the risks of melanoma.
“Just look at everything we know about smoking and cancer,” Lyn Stevensen said.
“The risk between sun loungers and not protecting yourself from the sun and cancer is just as real, but I don’t think we’re doing enough.”
What is skin cancer?
It can be divided into two types: melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers.
Melanoma is a type that can spread to other areas of the body. The most common sign is the appearance of a new mole or change to an existing mole.
It can occur anywhere on the body, but the back, legs, arms, and face are most commonly affected.
In most cases, melanomas have an irregular shape and several colors.
They may also be larger than normal moles and can sometimes be itchy or bleed.
According to figures from the NI Cancer Registry, there are around 400 cases of malignant melanoma each year in Northern Ireland, with an average of 60 deaths per year.
Non-melanoma skin cancer is more common and generally less serious: figures show fewer than 4,000 cases per year on average, of which around 1% result in death.
Who can get skin cancer?
Factors that increase the chances of getting melanoma include age, pale skin, a large number of moles, and a family history of skin cancer.
But the main cause is exposure to UV rays, which come from the sun and are used in deck chairs.
Lyn Stevensen was a “self-confessed sun worshipper”, who admitted that when she was tanned she “felt healthy, ironically”.
She remembers sitting in her garden in the summer of 2023, when she noticed a new mole on her knee.
Lyn, a pharmacist, was familiar with the ABCDE checklist, which can be used to assess the difference between a normal mole and melanoma.
When Lyn was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, she was “completely shocked” as she did not suffer painful sunburns from tanning her skin.
Her cancer was detected early and has not spread. And although she used deck chairs in the past, she added, now “fake tan and factor 50 would be the rules I live by.”
“I look at the number of people using deckchairs in Northern Ireland and I want to talk to them and say, you know what, I was like you, and I didn’t think this would happen to me and I did it . “I don’t think the risk was there.
“I like tanning because I felt that beautiful healthy glow, but again, it was far from healthy when it gave me cancer.”
What are the symptoms of melanoma?
The most common symptom is the appearance of a new mole or change in an existing mole.
This could be a change in color, shape or size, or if the mole has become painful or itchy.
The NHS also advises people to see their GP if they discover a new or unusual mark on your skin that has not gone away after a few weeks.
The ABCs of checking a mole
Asymmetry: two halves differ in shape
Border: ragged or jagged edges
Color: patchy/uneven; shades of black, white, gray, brown or pink; two or more colors = suspect
Diameter: for most melanomas, at least 6 mm
Scalable: change size, shape or color
“Funny”: If it seems strange or doesn’t appeal to you for some reason, get it checked out
Should deckchairs be banned?
In 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified exposure to UV sun lamps, sun loungers and tanning beds as carcinogenic.
The same year, Brazil became the first country to ban deck chairs for cosmetic purposes. Australia banned commercial deck chairs in 2013.
In Northern Ireland, under-18s are not allowed to use deckchairs – but Australian dermatologist Mr Muir says that doesn’t go far enough.
“If it’s not safe when you’re under 18, it’s not safe when you’re over 18.
“Sometimes you have to protect people from themselves. We have speed limits, we have seat belts, we have crash helmets.
“It makes no sense to be exposed to a carcinogen that you can avoid. And to a potent carcinogen, something that causes cancer.”
The Department of Health said there were “no immediate plans regarding a ban on deckchairs”.
It adds: “However, given that the department’s skin cancer prevention strategy aims to reduce the incidence of skin cancer, future regulatory action regarding sunbeds has not been ruled out.”
How to prevent skin cancer
It is possible to reduce the risk by avoiding sun loungers and tanning beds and being careful in the sun – for example, by using sunscreen and reapplying it regularly.
There are also resources like Action Cancer’s skin cancer detection service, launching in April 2023.
The charity’s lead skin cancer nurse, Iona McCormack, said that since its inception the charity had “detected over 100 skin cancers”, including 12 to 14 cases of malignant melanoma.
She said it was “pretty high” and not what they expected at first.
“Unfortunately, we have seen people delay seeking treatment during the pandemic, and since then we have found that patients are sometimes still reluctant to bother their GP,” she said.
“I think that’s why we’ve probably recovered more than we thought, because I think people see this as an alternative service.”