There's no sunlight during the dull winter of northern European countries, but the Germans look like they have been on a mass trip to the Caribbean, while some even got an orange shade. Germany is the European country with the largest number of sunbed amateurs, with about 16 million people (20 % of the population).

But doctors are extremely worried about this tendency which increases the risk of skin cancer provoked by over exposure to harmful ultra-violet rays.

There are about 12,000 tanning studios containing 90,000 booths, spread across the country in every town and city, according to figures from the working group on dermatological damage prevention (ADP).

In tanning studios people take off winter clothing and stay as naked as the day they were born, only with a pair of protective goggles, to ease themselves under the ultra-violet lights in individual cabins for 20, 30 or 45 minutes. "I normally go once a week for 30 minutes. It just makes me look better in the winter," said Andrea, a 38-year-old interpreter from Berlin. "I am aware of the health risks though and I stopped going when I was pregnant."

91.8 % of the Germans, women and men, explained the use of tanning studios by a more "alive" feel (it chases away winter depression provoked by the lack of sunlight) in a research made in 2006 at Stuttgart Media University. Others avoided winter pallor, 84.6 % of them regarding a "lightly tanned skin" as a more healthy look.

The research revealed that only one third of the tanning lovers feared getting skin cancer in the solariums.

But in Germany, 144,000 patients get skin cancer annually, including 20,000 with the most server form, melanoma, and the numbers are rising. "Health problems due to ultra-violet light are going to rise sharply if more and more people go to tanning studios," said Eckhard Breitbart, a physician with the ADP.

There is particular concern amongst physicians about the potential harm to children's skin as there is actually no legislation forbidding under-18s using tanning studios. "We are currently discussing this but nothing has been decided," said environment ministry spokesman Tobias Duenow.

All this time, millions of Germans flee from the ugly winter weather to the UV radiation.