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Children Must Be More Educated About The Risks Of Sun Exposure And The Consequences Excessive Tanning Can Cause

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Teenagers need to be more educated about the risks of sun exposure and the consequences excessive tanning can cause. Programs aimed at educating America’s youth were implemented in the early 1990’s; however those programs have been unsuccessful (Geller et al., 2002). Higher rates of sunburns tend to occur in regions where sun safety education has not been implemented (Saridi et al., 2014). The major reasons teens are at a greater risk for developing skin cancer as adults is due to improper sunscreen use, and therefore more sunburns, as well due to the use of tanning beds (Geller et al., 2002).
Social factors and sunscreen use. Adolescents tend to not take sun protective measures in order to tan to look more attractive to peers (Saridi et al., 2014). Beliefs about tanned skin being more attractive have been around for many years and these beliefs need to be reshaped in order to make real change to increase sun safety (Geller et al., 2002). Teens’ views about sun tanning and teens’ sun tanning actions are greatly influenced by friends’ behaviors (Mewse, Lea, Ntala, & Eiser, 2011). Teens see the positive effects of tanning such as a better appearance, much quicker than they do the negative effects such as wrinkles and skin cancer, and it can be hard for them to relate tanning to future cancer (Hall, Jones, & Saraiya, 2001). A common theme among many studies evaluating teens and sun tanning concluded that the main reasons teens tan is to look more attractive, fit in

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