14 DAY TRIAL // Warnings on the risks the use of tanning beds entails have been issued before, but, until recently, these devices were not listed in the carcinogenic category per se, since health experts considered them “probably” likely to cause skin cancer. A new analysis of data gathered in time shows that tanning beds are carcinogenic to humans, no doubt about it, LiveScience informs.
The new warning comes from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which advises the World Health Organization and concludes that the use of tanning beds before the age of 30 actually boosts the risk of skin cancer by a whopping 75 percent. Certainly, health experts say, the percentage is too high to be ignored anymore and calls for immediate action and sanctions on the use of tanning beds, which, paradoxically, are becoming ever so popular, especially with girls and women under 25.
“The ultraviolet light used in tanning beds (as with the sun’s rays) has been shown to raise the risk of skin cancer, which can be deadly. But those who use the beds habitually ignore or accept the risks, which have not been clearly spelled out by the medical community. Now the International Agency for Research on Cancer has raised their warning of tanning beds from ‘probably carcinogenic to humans’ to ‘carcinogenic to humans.’” LiveScience reports.
The problem with strictly regulating the use of tanning beds lies in that we’re actually talking here about an industry with a business figure estimated at $5 billion a year in the United States alone. Moreover, the Indoor Tanning Association claims that using one such product is in no way different from staying out in the sun to get the same bronzed look. As a matter of fact, the former might be a better option, it says, because it prevents sunburn, therefore the ITA is downplaying the latest findings by saying that “moderation” should actually lower and even prevent getting skin cancer.
“[IARC], which advises the World Health Organization, did a review of studies on the topic and concluded that the risk of melanoma, which is the most deadly form of skin cancer, is 75 percent higher in people who started using tanning beds regularly before age 30. […] The tanning salon industry has in the past claimed the UV light is harmless and even healthy. One claim from proponents is that tanning prevents sunburn, thereby reducing the chance of skin cancer. That’s total hooey.” LiveScience further explains.
With all the controversy, health experts reinforce their previous recommendation of avoiding UV light altogether, choosing instead healthier and safer options, such as sunless tanning lotions and spray-tans, which entail no such risks of skin cancer.