Computer tan email revealed as hoax by skin cancer charity

The email offered a free trial of a product that allegedly manipulates computer screens to give users a tan if they registered at a website.

The email said: ‘ComputerTan’s revolutionary technology developed and patented in California, USA, remotely manipulates the electrical impulses delivered to the Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps present in every computer monitor, which transmit different wavelengths of light, from Infra-Red to Ultra-Violet.

'ComputerTan can control the level, intensity and exposure times of this light according to a person’s skin profile and usage history.’

However the email was in fact a hoax by the UK skin cancer charity Skcin to raise awareness about the disease.

It was particularly aimed at making people more aware of the damage that tanning and sunbathing can do to health.

Richard Clifford, co-founder of Skcin, said: ‘More people die of skin cancer in the UK every year than in Australia.

‘It is the most common form of cancer in young adults (15-34) and is largely preventable. The lack of regulation concerning the use of sunbeds is an extremely serious issue… and this campaign highlights the fact that it is high time for a change in the law.’

The charity was founded by family and friends of Karen Clifford, who died of skin cancer in 2005 and offers help and advice about skin cancer.

• Related article on nursingtimes.net: Regulator issues warning over melanotan tanning injections

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