SUNLIGHT, ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION: HALF ANGEL, HALF-DEMONS

We love the sun, it makes us feel good.But not too enough! The results of a new expertise are adamant: "exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, whether natural or artificial (tanning booth and bench), is carcinogenic (cancer = source).

The craze for vivid sun exposure during leisure time continues to grow robustly.The tanning beds are also increasingly popular. Meanwhile, there has been a steady increase in skin cancers , with 80,000 new cases diagnosed each year in France. As for melanoma , skin cancer, the most severe, the number of new cases this year already reached 8,000. Note that in 2000, melanoma was responsible for 1,364 deaths. However, sun exposure is now considered a major cause of melanoma and risk factors closely associated with the occurrence of other skin cancers (basal cell cancer and squamous cell carcinoma).

This fact is again confirmed. In April 2004, the departments of Health and Environment has requested an expert data on exposure and health risks due to exposure to UV. Conducted jointly by the French Agency for Environmental Health Safety (AFSSE), the National Institute of Health Surveillance (INVS) and the French Agency for Safety of Health Products (AFSSAPS), the conclusion of this study is that the UV exposure increases the risk of skin cancer. In other words, UV is carcinogenic . Experts point out that artificial tanning booth increases, too, the risk of developing melanoma and the risk is even greater than the exposure occurs during childhood, especially for fair skin.

Data on the behavior of the French and the use of sunbeds are limited, the establishment of an observatory of UV exposure was specifically recommended.According to experts, it needs more 'awareness of this problem in order to encourage them to limit sun exposure and even encourage them to renounce the use of solar cabins .