Government proposes crackdown on sunbeds to stop use by children

Mandatory identification checks could be introduced for the use of sunbeds as part of new laws that aim to crackdown on their use by children.

The government has today launched a 12-week public consultation proposing that staff must be present and check a customer’s ID before they can use a sunbed.

The proposals also include that health warnings must be clearly displayed to help ensure adults know the risks before using one, as well as a ban on misleading health claims around their usage.

Ministers said while under-18s are already barred from using sunbeds, teens ‘often get around these rules through using contactless systems that let anyone tap and tan without any checks by a staff member’.

Today’s announcement comes as part of the government’s National Cancer Plan, which aims to see one in three cancer patients cancer-free or living well five years after diagnosis.

The public, businesses, local authorities, and experts have 12-weeks to respond to the consultation, with new rules potentially in place as early as 2027.

The government will also look at whether even tougher action is needed, with a call for evidence launching in autumn 2026.

Public health and prevention minister, Sharon Hodgson, said: ‘Sunbeds cause cancer – and yet children as young as 14 are still accessing them illegally. That is not acceptable.

‘We’re closing the ways in which businesses could get away with this, and making sure anyone who uses a sunbed knows exactly what they’re risking.

‘Stopping cancer before it starts is the best thing we can do for families and the NHS.’

Professor Peter Johnson, national clinical director for cancer at NHS England, added: ‘Sunbeds are not a harmless shortcut to a tan – we know they are a cancer risk, and under-18s should not be using them at all.

‘These proposals would help prevent unscrupulous operators from providing sunbeds to children and make sure that adults understand the risks before they use one.

‘We should be doing everything we can to prevent cancer before it starts, and action like this can help us save lives.’

New analysis by Cancer Research UK shows the number of people diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in the UK has risen above 20,000 a year for the first time.

The charity said 20,980 new melanoma cases were recorded annually across the UK, and warned the figure could rise to 26,500 cases a year by 2040.