EXPECT TO SEE a few less strangely-coloured children from now on.

Sunbeds are officially banned for under-18s as of today, under a new law from the Department of Health.

The legislation means the HSE will have to carry out inspections on sunbed operators, premises have to be licensed, and the sale or hire of sunbeds online will be controlled.

There will also be a ban on offering sunbeds to be used for free, and new Minister for Health Leo Varadkar may ban any advertising of sunbeds offering a price reduction.

People may be asked to produce a passport, driving licence or age card to prove that they are over 18.

More than 850 new cases of skin cancer are reported in Ireland every year, and the disease kills 150 people here annually.

“This ban won’t solve the skin cancer problem on its own, but we can achieve our goal if we work together and raise awareness,” said Minister Varadkar.

The Irish Cancer Society has estimated that anywhere up to 28,000 children and teenagers use sunbeds every year.

“It is our hope that this legislation will mark a turning point in attitudes to using sunbeds in Ireland,” said Kathleen O’Meara of the ICS.

Read: Children making their communion being ‘paraded into tanning shops to perk up their tans’ > 

Read: Irish Cancer Society: Law to regulate use of sunbeds doesn’t go far enough >