The Cancer Society is confident sun bed operators will clean up their act, now the Auckland Council has brought in strict rules.
A new bylaw will require operators to have a licence, and prevent anyone under 18 from having sun bed treatment.
Cancer Society Auckland chief John Loof says in the past there have only been guidelines, so it's good to see actual policies put in place.
"When it's a voluntary regime then maybe people think it's not that serious. There are consequences of not following the new policies. This is a serious health issue and we all need to take it very seriously.
"We really want to see an end to sun beds that's the more important goal. They don't add any real value and they medically create a risk but this is a good interim step.''
Mr Loof says some operators will complain about the new measures but they're based on medical evidence, which he says easily outweighs any cosmetic benefit.
He says New Zealand is lagging behind other countries on this issue so there's plenty of catching up to do.