Sunbed use ‘encouraged by friends’

Just over a quarter of those aged 18 to 24 also received encouragement from a family member or their partner when using a sunbed for the first time.

The Cancer Research UK survey discovered that improving appearance was the main reason for first sunbed use among this age group.

Some 53 per cent also believed using sunbeds had become more “fashionable”.

Almost 3,000 people were surveyed as part of the charity’s SunSmart initiative R UV UGLY? – funded by the Department of Health – including 474 people aged 18 to 24.

More than a quarter said they were not bothered by serious health warnings around sunbed use and 62 per cent first used a sunbed under the age of 18, which is now illegal.

Using a sunbed for the first time before the age of 35 increases the risk of malignant melanoma by 75 per cent.