Tanning beds are a big pastime for up and coming teens as they prepare for Spring break, pool parties and outdoor fun. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) thinks teens should be banned from tanning beds due to serious risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.
About 8,700 people died of melanoma last year. Since 1992 the cancer has been increasing by 3% each year in women between the ages of 15 and 39.
Dr. Sophie Balk of Children’s Hospital at Montefiore in New York and contributor to the journal Pediatrics says:
“We are looking for legislation that prohibits kids from going to tanning salons. It’s protecting our youth from something potentially harmful. The intensity of radiation from tanning booths may be 10 to 15 times higher than that of the midday sun. It causes them (teens) to wrinkle later on and increases risk of skin cancer. It doesn’t mean everyone develops skin cancer, but it increases the risk.”
John Overstreet of The Indoor Tanning Association (ITA) quickly responded:
“We’re talking about getting a sun tan. This is a decision best left for parents, not the government. Let parents make the decision. While indoor tanning is a cosmetic service, a well-known side effect of exposing the skin to ultraviolet (UV) light is the production of vitamin D. Emerging evidence suggests that there may be an epidemic of vitamin D deficiency in North America. Research also suggests that vitamin D plays an important role in maintaining good health. In light of this evidence, the Indoor Tanning Association believes that the health benefits of indoor tanning deserve further research.”
According to the ITA’s website, Europeans started tanning indoors with sunlamps that emitted ultraviolet light as a therapeutic exercise to harness the positive psychological and physiological effects of UV exposure. Long before the first tanning facility was established in the United States in the late 1970s, the practice of visiting a “solaria” for the positive effects of UV light was widespread in Europe, particularly in the sun-deprived, northern countries. Although indoor tanning is considered a cosmetic exercise in the United States, the industry’s roots are therapeutic, and many Americans do in fact visit tanning facilities for that purpose.
The science of photobiology, which studies the effects of light on life, was founded on studying the positive effects of sunlight. Indeed, the 1903 Nobel Prize for Physiology/Medicine was awarded to Dr. Niels Finsen for his work treating the disease lupus vulgaris with ultraviolet light. While the indoor tanning industry in the United States promotes its services for cosmetic purposes, the fact remains that exposing the skin to ultraviolet light is the body’s primary means of producing vitamin D (which in turn is related to positive physiological effects). Exposure to UV light is also responsible for the production of endorphins and serotonin (which in turn is related to positive psychological effects).
Over 30 states already have tanning regulations in place for minors, and some have banned children younger than 14 or require parental permission. Other states, including Illinois and New York, are considering legislation to ban all minors from indoor tanning. Tanning beds use UVA rays, which can lead to wrinkles and DNA damage but do not cause sunburns like UVB radiation.
The health consequences of tanning have been shown to have little impact on teen behavior when it comes to sun exposure. But with spring break around the corner, dermatologists are urging students to practice proper sun protection and understand the importance of early detection of skin cancer, the most common type of cancer.
Sources: The Indoor Tanning Association and Pediatrics Journal
Written by Sy Kraft, B.A.