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Tanning drug cancer risk for Leeds women
WOMEN in Leeds are risking their health by injecting illegal tanning drugs.
Drugs workers in the city fear an influx of women at needle exchanges as they ignore warnings about Melanotan.
The fake tanning drug is hormone-based and was originally developed to fight skin cancer.
It is illegal in the UK but available on the internet for as little as 100.
Users dissolved it in water and inject it repeatedly until they get the tan they want.
Charlotte Simpson, co-owner of Coco Beach tanning salon in Kirkstall, said: "Some people tell me 'If it works, I'll use it'. It's the younger generation more, they are really gullible.
"I definitely would not advise customers to use anything like it."
Sarah Sheard, owner of the city's Bronze Tanning Studio, agreed. "It brings up melanin up so it's like over-exposure. You are increasing the risk of skin cancer."
Nina Goad of the British Association of Dermatologists said: "It is worrying that people in Leeds seem to be ignoring the warnings about tanning injections. There are several reports of people's health suffering. The very fact that it is illegal for sale in the UK should serve as the strongest warning."
Ann Sunter, area manager at the St Anne's Resource Centre community drug service, said: "We will see an influx of people wanting needles for this. It's a concern, especially if young people are buying it on the internet.
"People risk their health and other people's health by re-using needles."
The drug stimulates an increase in natural melanin, a brown pigment which causes skin to darken when exposed to UV rays.
Melanotan has not directly been linked with skin cancer, but according to one recent report in the British Medical Journal side effects can include hot flushes, nausea and increased or darkened moles.
A spokesperson for NHS Leeds today warned people in Leeds to avoid Melanotan, adding: "The NHS Choices website states that Melanotan is illegal and has not had the stringent safety and effectiveness testing that all medicines need before they are licensed for use. The drug has not been safety tested by the UK medicines safety agency. This means that the side effects of this treatment are not known."
The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has issued warnings to 18 British-based websites selling the drug. It also stressed the "serious" safety issues around the use of needles to inject the substance.
Melanotan has not yet been licenced for public use in any country. Trials in the US were halted amid concerns about dangerous rises in blood pressure.
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Sunday 12 February 2012
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