Liberals stall sun bed ban
The State Government has had to hold off plans to ban commercial tanning beds after an embarrassing lack of support in the Liberal party room.
In a move that stunned cancer experts, several Liberal backbenchers questioned whether sun beds posed a health risk, despite the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifying them in the highest risk category for cancer.
From next year, WA will be the only State that allows commercial machines.
Health Minister Kim Hames had the support of State Cabinet to ban tanning beds from 2016 but some Liberal MPs questioned the health risks of the machines.
Dr Hames said yesterday he had agreed to provide more information. "I've arranged an urgent meeting next week with health specialists, including those with radiation, skin pathology and dermatology expertise," he said.
At question time in Parliament, he tried to deflect some responsibility to people who used sun beds. "No one forces them. No one's making them get cancer," Dr Hames said.
But Cancer Council WA director of education and research Terry Slevin said when it came to advice about what caused cancer, MPs should trust the International Agency for Research on Cancer and the World Health Organisation.
"Sun beds are a class one carcinogen - end of story," he said.
"We urge all MPs to put the interests of their constituents over the small number of solarium operators in WA and join the rest of the country in banning commercial solarium operators and their machines which add to the enormous skin cancer burden in WA.
"This is now an urgent matter for this Government."
Shadow health minister Roger Cook said tanning beds were killing West Australians yet the Government could not even ban a product that caused cancer.
"WA was once a national leader in regards to tanning beds legislation and now it is a national embarrassment," he said.
