Australian Greens moves to ban sunbeds
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New South Wales (NSW) Greens MP Lee Rhiannon said on Tuesday sunbeds should be banned, as almost 40 percent of solariums in NSW continue to act illegally.
The Greens will move a motion to debate the proposed ban in the state parliament, and are urging Premier Kristina Keneally to make NSW the first Australian state to outlaw solariums.
The NSW government introduced regulations a year ago, including prohibiting people under 18 or with very fair skin using ultraviolet sunbeds, and requiring operators to display warning signs about the risks.
However, a recent audit by the Department of Environment and Climate Change found at least one in three operators were not complying with the laws.
"There have been attempts by the NSW government to bring in regulations, but those regulations have failed," Rhiannon told reporters.
"The attempt by the government to clean up the industry has failed, with about 40 percent of the industry continuing to act illegally."
Most Australian states moved to ban minors from using tanning beds, and increased industry regulation, following the well- publicized plight of Melbourne woman Claire Oliver who died of melanoma in 2007 at age 26.
Cancer Council research has found tanning beds kill 43 Australians a year and are responsible for another 2,600 annual skin cancer diagnoses.
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