Beginning in early March of each year people eager for sunnier days and beaching bumming, start penciling in extra time each day for a quick trip to the tanning bed. It’s no wonder tanning salons can be found on every street corner in America. Ask anyone who tans regularly during late Winter and they’ll tell you the reason they start so soon is because they don’t want to burn when the time comes to shed those sweaters and pull on a tank top. But does tanning really stop you from burning so bad? And if so are the risks worth it compared to those associated with laying out?
The main reason the body tans is due to exposure of Ultraviolet radiation rays. There are basically two types, UVA and UVB. Tanning beds along with sunlamps use powerful lights to produce UVA rays that darken the skin. The UVA rays produce a much deeper tan but expose to the person to higher dosages of the UVA radiation. UVB rays are emitted by the sun and though they due cause people to burn, compared to tanning booths and depending on the amount of exposure the percentages of catching skin cancer is a lot lower. Not only has the UVA ray recently been linked to melanoma skin cancer (the most dangerous variety), but one international study says that people under 35 that use tanning beds are 75% more likely to contract skin cancer. And what about that theory that a quick trip to the tanning bed will stop you from getting a bad burn once you do go out? Dr. Martin A. Weinstock, MD, professor of dermatology at Brown University and chair of the American Cancer Society’s (ACS) skin cancer advisory board says “They may think that a ‘base’ tan will protect them from skin cancer, but in reality, the lights just act as a radiation multiplier, further increasing their skin cancer risk.”
Take a look at these tanning facts from skincancer.org:
- Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a proven human carcinogen, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
- Exposure to tanning beds before age 35 increases melanoma risk by 75 percent.
- Nearly 30 million people tan indoors in the U.S. annually; 2.3 million of them are teens.
- On an average day in the U.S., more than 1 million people tan in tanning salons; 70% are Caucasian women aged 16-49.
- People who use tanning beds are 2.5 times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma and 1.5 times more likely to develop basal cell carcinoma.
- Occasional use of tanning beds almost triples the chances of developing melanoma.
- New high-pressure sunlamps emit doses of UVR that can be as much as 15 times that of the sun.
- The indoor tanning industry has an estimated revenue of $5 billion.
- Up to 90 percent of the visible skin changes commonly attributed to aging are caused by the sun. These changes can be seen as early as in one’s 20’s.
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