Recent scientific evidence makes maintaining that year-round tan suddenly much less appealing. Not only are tanning beds directly linked to skin cancer, the more they're used, the higher the risks become.
Skin Cancer and Indoor Tanning
According to the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), the risk of melanoma is 74 percent higher in persons who tan indoors than those who don't. Researchers from the University of Minnesota recently conducted interviews about indoor tanning and skin cancer. The questionnaire included questions about the tanning device used, the frequency and for how long. The researchers found that among the 1,167 people with melanoma almost two-thirds (63 percent) had used tanning beds. Further resuearch proves that it does not matter whether the beds use UVA and/or UVB rays, but with tanning beds using UVA rays the melanoma risk increases 4.4 fold.
DeAnn Lazovich, an associate professor at the division of epidemiology and community health at U of M, says, "We found these relationships whether we looked at it be age, by gender, by where the tumor was found or by how we measured how much people tanned or what kind of devices they used." Professor Lazovich also says that melanoma is particularly associated with young women and that the risks are under appreciated. Melanoma is the second most prominent cancer found in young women and the numbers increse dramatically every year.
What Some Influential People are Saying About Skin Cancer
MTV's reality show Jersey Shore's character Snookie anounced recently that "she does not want to die from skin cancer." The Skin Cancer Foundation's Senior Vice President, Dr. Deborah S. Sarnoff, sat down with the cast to discuss the dangers and damage associated with indoor tanning. Dr. Sarnoff hoped to debunk the girls on the show's motto, "GTL" that stands for Gym, Tanning, Laundry. The intervention was apparently productive as the Jersey Girls swore off indoor tanning and promised to start "spray on" tanning instead. Researchers hope that by spreading the word through television medium, young women will get the word on how dangerous tanning beds really are.
Phillippe Autier, MD, MPH reports that in 2009 the International Agency for the Research of Cancer (IARC) added ultraviolet radiation from tanning machines to its Group I list of carcinogens, stating further that after years of research concerning the relationship of skin cancer and tanning beds. The IARC placed this type of UV in a category with odious elements such as radon and plutonium.
Katie Donnar (18) was preparing for the Miss Indiana Pageant when she discovered a growth on her leg. Katie was later diagnosed as having melanoma, the worst case of skin cancer. Katie remembers spending afternoons indoor tanning during her high school cheer leader days, but now she says, no more.
From actresses to fashion models, the word is getting out. Spray-on tanning products work extremely well, and that indoor tanning is unacceptably dangerous.
Valerie Modreski - Ms. Modreski has worked as a writer for over 30 years. Valerie began her career on the editorial staff of the Broward College academic ...
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