The Consequences Of Tanning Under Age

Many people think that is it possible to achieve a “healthy tan,” but this thought has been proven wrong. Overexpose to UV-A and UV-B rays from the sun lead to premature aging of the skin, as well as the possible formation of skin cancer, know as melanoma. An appearance of a tan is actually a stage of burning and damage to the skin. Although a tan may be desirable to many, the fact remains that more people need to be educated on the dangers of the sun’s harmful rays, and the possible health complications of overexposure.

We can darken and lighten to a degree, but extreme climate change would call for more dramatic affects.

tanning promises and creates a beautiful tan in only a few sessions. The result from this tan is dark and clear skin that makes a person feel and look better. No wonder this craze is so popular. Who wouldn’t want to look like they just came back from the Caribbean with beautiful skin? I mean having tan skin does make a person look better right? This question is obviously a personal opinion, but this new habit of tanning indoors has become a growing concern. There are many long term effects to indoor tanning that are harmful to a person. But most people do not understand this because the short-term effects are the most satisfying.

So this bring me back to the question, what side are you on? I’m personally against banning tanning beds, many think if beds are used the right way, they can be safer. If tanning beds are used correctly, then there is minimal damage done to the body of the person being tanned because you control the time you

Melanoma is the fifth most common cancer among men and the sixth most common cancer in women (Melanoma Statistics). According to the Melanoma Research Foundation, the chances of getting melanoma increases by 75% if one uses a tanning bed before the age of thirty. (Why is tanning dangerous?). In addition, every one in three cancers diagnosed are diagnosed as skin cancer, and nearly 75% of patients diagnosed have admitted to using a tanning bed at least once in their lives. Although in some states it may be legal to use tanning beds under the age of eighteen, tanning beds have been proven to cause melanoma and skin damage when used inappropriately.

“Those who tanned the most—for ten years or more had more than twice the risk of melanoma compared with people who never used tanning beds.”—Martin Weinstock of Brown University of Medicine. Tanning beds are very menacing machines. They give out ultra violet rays that lead to melanoma, the most dangerous type of skin cancer. Tanning beds are causing many problems to millions of people.

In the article, “Warning: That Tan Could Be Hazardous. Indoor Tanning Poses Cancer Risks, Teenagers Lear” the writer, Sabrina Tavernise discusses how tanning indoors in tanning beds will put people at a higher risk for Melanoma, especially teen tanners because they are at such a young age.

Being the daughter of woman who has had both basal cell and squamous cell skin cancer, I am biased in my belief that tanning beds cause skin cancer. As a teenager, I never used the services of a tanning salon, because my mother and my dermatologist succeeded in terrifying me about the dangers of tanning beds. Not surprisingly the article I found, “Congressional Investigation Finds Tanning Salons Lie About Health Risks to Patrons”, confirmed my beliefs. The article summarizes a study that was completed by the U.S House and Energy Committee, which revealed that 90% of the 300 tanning salons that were researched by the committee had denied the inherent risks associated with tanning beds. In addition, the author of the article, Mikaela Conley, compares and contrasts the causation between skin cancer and tanning beds between professionals who have conflicting interests.

The younger the body is, the more fragile it is. According to THE EDITORS, “...the earlier UV damage begins, the more time it has to add up and get worse. People who begin tanning before the age of 35 have a melanoma risk that is at least 60 percent greater than those who start after that age” (par. 5). The facts of how bad it is for the body and how much the risk is for younger people should be more than enough to prevent it. Putting up label warnings and needing parental consent is not sufficient to alert the problems with minors fake tanning. The health of the youth is far more important than skintones (THE EDITORS par. 7-8). More should be done to make teenagers and parents aware of the terrible effects sunless tanning

In fact, “People who have ever used a tanning bed have a sixty-seven percent increased risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma and a twenty-nine percent increased risk of developing basal cell carcinoma. People who first use a tanning bed before age thirty-five increase their risk of melanoma by seventy-five percent” (Silecchia). In the past, melanoma mostly affected people in their fifties or older, but today, dermatologists see patients in their twenties and even late teens with this type of cancer. Experts believe this is caused by an increase in radiation from the use of tanning beds. A sunburn or intense sun exposure may also increase a person's chances of developing this deadly cancer. Being in the sun is inevitable, but people can still protect their skin from many forms of skin cancer by doing the simplest things such as applying sunscreen.

The difference between the sun and a tanning bed are the amount of UVA and UVB rays that are emitted, tanning beds, use fluorescent bulbs that emit predominantly UVA with a small amount of UVB. The Sun emits way more UVB than a tanning bed. The skin cancer foundation said “UVA exacerbates the cancer-causing effects of UVB, and is the main wavelength behind photo-aging…It penetrates more deeply and causes more genetic damage in the skin cells where most skin cancers arise.” On the website “YoExpert” they wrote an easy way to remember the difference between UVA and UVB and their side effects is UVA = Aging UVB= Burn. So if if one was worried about burning in the sun then a tanning bed is the way to go. Bad things are that a tanning bed will make

Tanning has become increasingly popular over years. The question is it beneficial or a bad business deal to start. The truth is tanning is convenient method utilized by many individuals to gain skin tone and color, builds self- esteem and promote relaxation. It can be beneficial in many aspects of our lives as well as an alternative to more harmful exposure but there are always risks at everything you do. Dermatologists today are against it for the simple fact that they believe it causes skin cancer. According to NCI (National Cancer Institute) exposure to UV radiation—whether from the sun or from artificial sources such as sunlamps utilized in tanning beds—increases of developing skin cancer. IRAC (International Agency for Research on

In addition, tanning industries claim that UVA radiation has no harmful effects on the skin. They say that only UVB radiation can harm the outermost layer of the skin. Since UVA rays penetrate deep into the skin, then they say that tanning beds cannot cause any type of premature aging, burn the skin, or thicken

Tanning salons turn their attention toward cancer prevention and turn their backs on causing skin cancer. Lavine wrote, "The JNCI review noted that indoor tanning can increase a fair-skinned individual's risk of developing melanoma by 55%. And it can take a mere 10 indoor-tanning sessions to cause precancerous DNA damage, reports a recent review study by a Kings College London researcher (Lavine)." Melanoma is not the only form of skin cancer. Tanning beds play a role in the formation of other skin cancers as

The scariest fact found when researching the effects of exposure to the sun’s harmful rays is that ninety present of skin cancer is caused by it. Doesn’t knowing the facts make you want to shield yourself and your children by never going outside again? Unfortunately, that is just imposable but educating our youth is the first step to prevention since most sun exposure is achieved before the age of eighteen. According to the American Academy of Dermatology, one out of every five American’s will develop skin cancer. The three main types of skin cancer are basal cell carcinoma (BCC), squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), and malignant melanoma. Basal cell carcinoma (BCC) is the most common