Minister for Health Mary Harney has indicated she would favour a total ban on sunbeds to reduce the risk of cancer.
Speaking at the Livestrong global cancer summit in Dublin today, Ms Harney said she hoped long promised legislation banning sunbed use by minors would be ready soon, adding that she would like to ban sunbed use by people of all ages.
It was something she was going to ask her officials to explore, she said, adding that it would require EU approval.
The summit heard that the total economic cost of new cancer cases worldwide this year has been conservatively estimated at $305 billion.
The estimate was contained in a report compiled by the New York based Economist Intelligence Unit.
The report, published today to mark beginning of the summit in the RDS, estimated there will be 12.9 million new cancer cases diagnosed this year around the world. This is set to rise to 16.8 million in 2020.
The report puts the direct and indirect costs of treating cancer in Ireland this year at $629 million. But economist Richard Stein pointed out that this was based on costs incurred in relation to the 26 most common cancers and not all cancers seen here this year.
The costs, which include medicinal costs as well as the time spent by carers in looking after family members who are ill and contributions by non-governmental organisations, are estimates based on numbers of cancer which will be seen rather than based on actual figures provided by the Irish Government.
The document also identifies a $217 billion treatment expenditure gap in 2009 but does not say specifically how much extra each country needs to invest to bridge this gap. However it stresses most of this gap is in the developing world where the burden of cancer is growing and where treatment if available at all is limited.
Today more than half of new cancer cases and nearly two thirds of cancer deaths occur in the developing world. Yet only 5 per cent of global resources for cancer are spent in the developing world.
The report was commissioned by Livestrong, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, with support from the American Cancer Society.
Launching it at a Livestrong global cancer summit, the world champion cyclist and cancer survivor Texan Lance Armstrong said investment in cancer care even at this difficult time economically is something that should and must be made in order to reduce the burden of the disease. It had to be a global priority, he said.
Doug Ulman, president and CEO of the Lance Armstrong Foundation, said cancer will be the number one killer worldwide in 2010 and while one in every three people can now expect to be diagnosed with cancer during their lifetime the chances will be down to one in every two people by 2015.
John McCormack, chief executive of the Irish Cancer Society said the incidence of cancer in Ireland alone is expected to double to over 40,000 cases over the next decade. There must be continued commitment to preventative and risk reduction measures here including the introduction of a national bowel cancer screening programme, he said.
Ms Harney told the summit the biggest challenge she faced in introducing the new cancer control programme in the Republic was opposition from vested interests. But she said the drive to centralise breast cancer surgery services was continuing and GPs are now being told not to refer breast cancer cases to Dublin's Tallaght Hospital from the end of this month. Services were also discontinued recently at Sligo General Hospital.