{"id":140759,"date":"2025-09-16T08:35:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-16T08:35:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/140759\/"},"modified":"2025-09-16T08:35:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-16T08:35:12","slug":"using-sunbeds-at-16-gave-me-cancer-and-im-horrified-to-hear-10-year-olds-use-them-today-this-is-why-we-must-stop-them-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/140759\/","title":{"rendered":"Using sunbeds at 16 gave me cancer and I’m horrified to hear 10-year-olds use them today… this is why we must stop them now"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Emma Gannuzzi was given the \u2018devastating\u2019 news that she had the deadliest form of skin cancer<\/a> at just 23, instead of railing at the injustice of the diagnosis, she blamed herself.<\/p>\n

Emma was in no doubt she had caused melanoma to develop through her \u2018foolish\u2019 use of sunbeds from the age of 16.<\/p>\n

Her doctor confirmed that exposure to artificial ultraviolet (UV) radiation in childhood does indeed significantly increase the risk of the disease, which claims around 2,600 lives a year in the UK.<\/p>\n

Had it spread to other organs, Emma\u2019s cancer could have killed her, but mercifully it was caught early and successfully removed.<\/p>\n

A second potentially deadly melanoma was also detected and removed six years later.<\/p>\n

Today, however, aged 36 and a mother of two, Emma still feels she has the \u2018sword of Damocles\u2019 hanging over her, and constantly checks her skin for changes.<\/p>\n

Given her susceptibility, she will need regular check-ups for potentially malignant moles for the rest of her life.<\/p>\n

\u2018Melanoma really is a life sentence,\u2019 says Emma, a train conductor who lives in Newport with husband Carlo, 40. \u2018I\u2019m worried all the time \u2013 any new mark, any mole that I think has changed slightly, makes me utterly paranoid.<\/p>\n

\"Emma <\/p>\n

Emma Gannuzzi is in no doubt she had caused melanoma to develop through her \u2018foolish\u2019 use of sunbeds from the age of 16<\/p>\n

\u2018There\u2019s a misconception that skin cancers are harmless because you can just get them chopped off, but melanoma spreads so quickly \u2013 if you don\u2019t catch it early, it can be incredibly dangerous.<\/p>\n

\u2018Living with the knowledge that a change in one of my moles could kill me is terrifying. And what\u2019s even worse is the guilt I feel about having brought this on myself, using sunbeds at an age when my skin was so vulnerable.\u2019<\/p>\n

So it\u2019s hardly surprising that Emma is \u2018utterly horrified\u2019 by the recent rise in children, some as young as ten, using sunbeds.<\/p>\n

Though it\u2019s illegal to use a sunbed under the age of 18, figures from the charity Melanoma Focus show that more than a third of 16 and 17-year-olds admit to at least one sunbed session a year, while 23 per cent do so monthly.<\/p>\n

More alarming still, tanning salons are allowing access to their facilities to much younger children, whose skin is even more susceptible to long-term UV damage.<\/p>\n

According to shocking statistics uncovered through a Freedom of Information request, there have been more than 200 cases of younger children using sunbeds, including a ten-year-old in Hertfordshire, 11-year-olds in Leicestershire and Kent, and 12-year-olds in Bradford and Greater London.<\/p>\n

The FOI requests were submitted by London-based specialist skin cancer clinic, The Devonshire Clinic, to local authorities across the country, in relation to the Sunbeds (Regulation) Act 2010, which prohibits commercial use by anyone under the age of 18.<\/p>\n

While some local authorities have taken enforcement action against salons breaching this law, the vast majority have not. In fact, in the five local authority areas with the highest number of reports of underage sunbed use, only 20 per cent of salons have been issued with fines.<\/p>\n

\"When <\/p>\n

When she was 23, Emma had surgery on her stomach to remove a melanoma. She says:\u00a0\u2018Melanoma really is a life sentence. I\u2019m worried all the time \u2013 any new mark, any mole that I think has changed slightly, makes me utterly paranoid\u2019<\/p>\n

Dr Conal Perrett, consultant dermatologist at The Devonshire Clinic, is alarmed but unsurprised by the statistics. \u2018The dangers of sunbeds are widely underestimated, particularly when it comes to young people,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n

\u2018We\u2019re seeing individuals suffer severe burns, lasting skin damage and, in some cases, long-term health issues such as premature ageing and increased skin cancer risk, including melanoma.<\/p>\n

\u2018Teenage skin is especially vulnerable to UV radiation, making early exposure even more damaging.<\/p>\n

\u2018Regulations are in place for a good reason. We urgently need better enforcement, greater public awareness, and a shift in attitudes around tanning.\u2019<\/p>\n

Emma wasn\u2019t even a regular user. Instead, for four years between 2005 and 2009 \u2013 when aged 16 to 20 \u2013 she visited salons in Newport up to three times a week in the month before going on her annual summer holiday.<\/p>\n

The idea was \u2018to get a base tan\u2019 before jetting off to places such as Spain or Thailand.<\/p>\n

However, one significant burn is all it takes to cause DNA damage that can lead to skin cancer and, today, she recalls that her stomach would always burn after a sunbed session. This is where her melanomas were later found.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t illegal for under-18s to use sunbeds in England and Wales until 2011, but she knew that her mum did not approve of her habit. She \u2018pulled a face\u2019 when told of Emma\u2019s visits to tanning salons \u2013 \u2018but, like many teenagers, I was never going to listen to my mum telling me what to do at that age\u2019.<\/p>\n

It was only when a friend at university in Cardiff pointed out the risks and encouraged her to try fake tan instead that she finally gave up her annual habit.<\/p>\n

By then, however, the damage had been done.<\/p>\n

\u2018It wasn\u2019t the first time I\u2019d heard about the dangers, but I\u2019d always thought \u201cI\u2019m young, I won\u2019t get cancer\u201d, \u2019 she says. \u2018How wrong I was. I have fair, Celtic skin, with freckles and moles \u2013 the most susceptible to sun damage, in fact.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A selfie when Emma is 29 and pregnant with her second child, after she had further surgery. She is \u2018utterly horrified\u2019 by the recent rise in children, some as young as ten, using sunbeds<\/p>\n

It was while applying suncream in Marbella at a friend\u2019s hen do three years later that Emma first spotted a new mole on her stomach, which looked rather like a speck of chocolate.<\/p>\n

Back home, she made an appointment with her GP, who referred her to the dermatology department at her local hospital, where the mole was removed that same day for testing. Within a few days, she was called back and \u2018knew from the speed of the appointment it was bad news\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018Hearing the diagnosis left me feeling totally numb,\u2019 says Emma. \u2018I was too shocked to cry. It took time for me to process what I was hearing.\u2019<\/p>\n

Although a terrible shock, the melanoma was stage 1A, which meant it had not yet spread to her lymph nodes or organs.<\/p>\n

\u2018The doctor told me not to Google it but I did. I remember sobbing, alone, after reading I had \u201cthe deadliest form of skin cancer\u201d. All I could think was: \u201cWhat have I done?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018I knew it was because of sunbeds \u2013 I remember my stomach would always burn when I used them, I guessed because it was so rarely exposed to UV rays.\u2019<\/p>\n

The skin around the mole was removed under local anaesthetic to ensure all cancerous cells had gone, and Emma was told, in no uncertain terms, to always wear sun protection factor 50 cream \u2013 and never to use sunbeds again.<\/p>\n

She has regular check-ups, where every mole is examined for potentially risky changes by specialists, and it was during one of these, while pregnant with her second child in 2018, aged 29, that Emma received more devastating news.<\/p>\n

\u2018Being told I had what looked like another cancerous mole, so wasn\u2019t in the best possible health for the baby growing inside me, was incredibly scary,\u2019 recalls Emma. Again the melanoma was on her stomach.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u2018The doctor said it was too risky to remove it for biopsy during pregnancy because my stomach was expanding, so the wound might not heal properly.<\/p>\n

\u2018It was incredibly hard putting the thought of it progressing to something more sinister from my mind. I was anxious throughout the rest of the pregnancy.\u2019<\/p>\n

The mole was removed in February 2019, and turned out once again to be a stage 1A melanoma. A further operation followed to remove the skin around it.<\/p>\n

Emma will now be monitored for the rest of her life, something which brings some relief from the \u2018constant anxiety\u2019 she feels.<\/p>\n

\u2018Unlike other cancers, you never go into remission from melanoma,\u2019 she says. \u2018The most reassurance they\u2019ve been able to give over the past seven years is that there\u2019s \u201cno evidence of disease\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2018So, every day, I have a good look at the moles I can see and regularly ask my husband to check, and photograph, the ones on my back.<\/p>\n

\u2018As a wife and mother, I feel incredibly guilty for having given myself, albeit unwittingly, a life-threatening disease, all so I could have a bit of a tan.\u2019<\/p>\n

Melanoma Focus is especially alarmed that children and young people are being enticed into sunbed-use by online influencers promoting their supposed \u2018wellness\u2019 benefits.<\/p>\n

Today, videos on TikTok and Instagram by so-called tanning influencers encourage the use of solariums as good places to relax and de-stress, as well as giving a vitamin D boost and, of course, the attendant \u2018healthy glow\u2019. In fact, a tan is essentially skin damage and evidence of the body trying to protect itself from cellular injury.<\/p>\n

The problem is, many of the teens using sunbeds now weren\u2019t even born when the dangers were widely publicised in the early Noughties. Without accurate information, they\u2019re easily sucked into damaging beauty trends.<\/p>\n

\u2018Influencers and online trends encouraging the use of sunbeds, often targeted at young people, completely ignore the fact they are a significant risk factor for developing melanoma,\u2019 says Melanoma Focus\u2019s chief executive Susanna Daniels. \u2018Sadly, sunbeds are being marketed for wellbeing, possibly giving the illusion they are safe.<\/p>\n

\u2018In fact, young skin is particularly vulnerable and research has shown that experiencing five or more bad sunburns between ages 15 and 20 increases your melanoma risk by 80 per cent.\u2019<\/p>\n

Since 2009, indeed, the World Health Organisation has classified artificial UV radiation as a Group 1 carcinogen, a known cause of cancer in humans, in the same category as asbestos and smoking.<\/p>\n

Surprisingly, in the Melanoma Focus survey, twice as many men and boys admitted to using sunbeds as women and girls, at 40 per cent compared to 19 per cent.<\/p>\n

This may be a side-effect of male gym trends \u2013 some gyms have solariums on-site \u2013 since tanning helps accentuate muscle definition.<\/p>\n

Likewise the fashion for \u2018looksmaxxing\u2019 among young men \u2013 maximising physical attractiveness, with the help of good skincare and grooming \u2013 might explain why so many are turning to sunbeds.<\/p>\n

Emma has two sons \u2013 Rico, ten, and Fabio, seven \u2013 and says she\u2019ll keep a close eye on them to make sure they don\u2019t get sucked into the pro-tanning culture online.<\/p>\n

\"Though <\/p>\n

Though it\u2019s illegal to use a sunbed under the age of 18, figures from the charity Melanoma Focus show that more than a third of 16 and 17-year-olds admit to at least one sunbed session a year, while 23 per cent do so monthly<\/p>\n

\u2018I don\u2019t have TikTok but I\u2019ve seen influencers and celebrities using sunbeds on Instagram and immediately unfollowed them,\u2019 says Emma. \u2018It\u2019s extremely irresponsible, they know their followers will copy what they do.<\/p>\n

\u2018If my sons ever suggested using one, at whatever age, I\u2019d be very disappointed because I\u2019ve done everything I can to teach them about the risks.<\/p>\n

\u2018They know what happened to me. It might sound scary but it\u2019s important that they know.<\/p>\n

\u2018They also have my husband\u2019s Italian genes, so they\u2019re not as fair as me, but they still have my genetic predisposition. I make sure they always wear sunscreen.\u2019<\/p>\n

Consultant dermatologist Professor Catherine Harwood, a trustee of Melanoma Focus, is grateful to Emma for speaking out about her experience at a time when, to her despair, solariums have once again become \u2018fashionable\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u2018Using sunbeds at any age can lead to DNA damage in skin cells, which significantly raises the likelihood of developing skin cancer later in life,\u2019 says Professor Harwood. But using them in childhood is especially risky and foolish.<\/p>\n

Emma would give anything to be able to turn back the clock and make different choices and feels the next best thing is raising awareness.<\/p>\n

\u2018If I could, I\u2019d go back in time and not use sunbeds, so I wouldn\u2019t be living in fear of the melanoma spreading and potentially taking me away from my husband and kids.<\/p>\n

\u2018If sharing my story prevents young people from being convinced by a social media reel that they are safe, I\u2019ll be happy.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Emma Gannuzzi was given the \u2018devastating\u2019 news that she had the deadliest form of skin cancer at…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":140760,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[97,519,59,102,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-140759","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health","8":"tag-dailymail","9":"tag-femail","10":"tag-gb","11":"tag-health","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom","14":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140759","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=140759"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/140759\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/140760"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=140759"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=140759"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=140759"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}