New South Wales is set to become the only place in the world outside of Brazil to implement a total ban on ultraviolet solariums tanning units, under radical new laws announced by the government today.

The move, effective from December 31, 2014, is expected to save 10 lives each year and prevent 120 melanomas developing. Environment Minister Robyn Parker said sunbeds were carcinogenic and the International Agency for Research on Cancer had placed them in the same category of risk as asbestos. “Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world and this ban is long overdue,” she said.

The ban is welcomed by the Cancer Council Australia and health experts. “One study, published in the International Journal of Cancer, found that the use of sunbeds by people aged 18-29 years increased their risk of developing melanoma by an average of 41 per cent,” said Dr Anne Cust from Sydney Medical School at the University.