SkinCancerUK are a recently formed patient support group who raise awareness around the causes of skin cancer, as well as help support people that have been diagnosed.

Skin cancer rates are rising rapidly in the UK, part of this is due to the increase in the use of sunbeds. Fuelled by the rise in social media and influencers promoting them online. Sunbeds are legal in the UK and are regulated by the Sunbed Regulation Act (2010). Despite the law being in place, 100 people die each year due to sunbeds. We needed to highlight the dangers of sunbed use as well as lobbying to change the current law to tighten restrictions.

On April 8th 2010, after much lobbying from cancer charities, the UK Government passed a new bill – the Sunbed Regulation Act. The act regulates the use of tanning devices, the ultraviolet radiation (UVA) levels permitted, and the amount of time people are allowed to spend on sunbeds.

14 years later, 100 people die each year due to sunbed use and 46 new cases of melanoma are diagnosed each day.

That’s because today’s world looks very different – social media, influencers and reality TV stars have more sway than ever before. Whether it’s Kim Kardashian posting about her sunbed, or the 718m TikTok views of #sunbed content, people continue to use sunbeds, melanoma skin cancer cases are increasing, and the regulation is clearly unfit for purpose.

SkinCancerUK asked for an idea to raise awareness of the danger of sunbeds, highlight the deficiencies in the regulation and, ultimately, stop people dying unnecessarily.

We placed printed copies of the law on a sunbed and left them for the amount of time people spend on them each year. As the law was exposed, it began burning, taking on characteristics of melanoma such as raised spots with differing colour edges.

Cover pages were designed to explain what had happened to the pages and burnt alongside the law. Exposed laws were then sent to politicians, journalists and influencers to highlight the flaws in current legislation.

The process was filmed and used to raise broader awareness and direct people to a website which educated people on the risks of sunbeds, asking them to write to MPs demanding change in legislation.

Each element of the was designed to encapsulate the dangers of sunbeds. The black set design and website allowed the glow of UV lights as well as the burnt laws to stand out and create maximum impact.

Sunbeds can emit up to 15x more UVA than the sun, which led The World Health Organisation to declare them as dangerous as smoking and place their use into the highest risk level for cancer alongside cigarettes, alcohol, and asbestos. All of these products feature clear warnings advising consumers of the risk – mandated by law. There is no such mandate in the Sunbed Regulation Act.