UK watchdog orders sunbed ads to stop hiding cancer risk

The Committee for Advertising Practice (CAP) is issuing a UK-wide enforcement notice to tanning firms, telling them to stop claiming sunbeds are safe or that they can treat medical conditions. The body, which writes the UK's advertising rules, says some of the claims circulating are potentially harmful and could put customers off seeking proper medical advice. Its compliance executive James Burnett put it bluntly: sunbeds carry serious health risks, including a higher chance of skin cancer, and ads should not present them as a way to improve health.

The move follows BBC reporting earlier this year that flagged hundreds of social media videos promoting the beds as energy boosters and treatments for skin conditions or mental health problems. Cancer charities and doctors say the machines are tied to higher rates of melanoma and other skin cancers. According to the World Health Organization, using a sunbed before the age of 35 raises the risk of melanoma later in life by 59%.

Young people in the UK are the heaviest users. About one in seven 18-to-24-year-olds say they used a sunbed in the past year, double the average across all age groups, according to a 2025 YouGov survey. Rosie Vare, health information manager at Teenage Cancer Trust, called skin cancer one of the most common forms of the disease in young adults and welcomed tougher enforcement. She urged young people to get their information from trusted, regulated sources such as the NHS or cancer charities.

The Sunbed Association, which represents roughly half of the UK's tanning salons, backs the crackdown but wants room to show it plays by the rules. Its chairman Gary Lipman said he would never encourage members to use health claims to sell sessions, and that there is a difference between calling something risk-free and explaining that a business operates responsibly. Under the association's guidelines, staff are trained to screen out high-risk customers with very fair skin, and no one should buy more than 60 sessions a year.

Sunbeds remain legal and regulated across the UK, with caps on the strength of UV light the beds emit and a ban on under-18s using them. Advertisers now have until 7 December 2026 to bring their marketing claims in line. CAP says it will use an AI-based monitoring system to hunt down ads that keep breaking the rules, and will take further action where needed.