Turn up the heat on solariums

This article was published in The Sydney Morning Herald 26 February 2010

After the very public death of 26-year-old solarium customer Clare Oliver from melanoma in September 2007, health authorities introduced mandatory rules for solariums.

Health authorities, journalists and the public had been jolted out of complacency. Solariums were not like spray tan studios, catering to fashion victims. They were cancer incubators. The days of voluntary codes were allegedly over. No under-18s, no pale-skinned customers. Limited exposure time. The industry quaked in fear.

Now, thanks to a recent NSW Health Department audit, we know that this has been treated as a joke across the sun-bed industry. Eighty-seven of 89 Sydney solariums have ignored the rules.