The west of Scotland is a sunbed hotspot

The British Medical Association said use needs to be better regulated after research showed that some people have more than 100 sunbed sessions every year.

The use of sunbeds in the rest of the UK pales in comparison to Scotland, which has more than 400 tanning salons.

The west of Scotland is a particular "hotspot" for tanning salons.

Cosmetic purposes

In Glasgow, there are at least 72 solariums in the city - just 21 fewer than London, a city 10 times its size.

And Renfrewshire Council, which is introducing its own licensing scheme at the end of April, has more than 31 tanning salons in its local authority area.

Dr Jamie Inglis, consultant in public health medicine for NHS Health Scotland, said: "There is no safe level of use, so we advise against use of sunbeds for cosmetic purposes.

"Any use increases the risk of skin cancer," he said.

There is no safe level of use, so we advise against use of sunbeds for cosmetic purposes. Dr Jamie Inglis

Dr Inglis was particularly concerned about the number of unmanned tanning salons which are operating across Scotland.

He said that the likelihood of misuse was much higher if there were no staff on the premises to advise about the dangers.

High pressure sunbeds which give intense bursts of radiation in two or three minutes are the "worst thing you can do to your skin", according to Dr Inglis.

A short high pressure session can cause as much damage as a year's normal exposure to the sun.

The British Medical Association has said the use of sunbeds needs to be regulated at a national level.

There are about 7,000 cases of skin cancer a year in Scotland.