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Health Department Retracts False Sunbed-Cancer Claim

3/21/2026

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Story summary
  • The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) retracted a January claim that sunbeds carry the same cancer risk as smoking.
  • Full Fact, a fact-checking organization, said smoking causes about 80 times more UK cancer cases than sunbeds.
  • The DHSC corrected it in March after intervention by the Office for Statistics Regulation.
  • Experts emphasized the importance of accurate health information.
  • The DHSC pledged to avoid such comparisons in the future.