Indoor Tanning Facts

One million people in the United States use tanning beds every day despite the known risks of skin cancer, premature skin aging, immune suppression, and eye damage including cataracts and melanoma of the eye. Seventy percent are women between the ages of 16 and 29. Having a tan is considered attractive and a sign of health and vitality, but it is important to be aware of the negative effects of indoor tanning on health and appearance.

Misconceptions

• Although considered attractive, a tan is actually a sign of skin damage.

  Although having a bronze glow year around is considered attractive and something many do to improve their appearance, a tan is actually a sign of skin damage, according to Sharon Miller, a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) scientist and international expert on UV radiation and tanning. When exposed to harmful UV rays, the skin attempts to protect itself by producing melanin, the pigment that darkens the skin. Over time, this leads to premature aging, which includes wrinkling, sagging and brown spots, and raises the risk of skin cancer.

Warnings

• Both the United States Department of Health and Human Services and the International Agency of Research on Cancer panel have categorized ultraviolet radiation from the sun and artificial sources, such as tanning beds and sun lamps, as a known carcinogen, or cancer-causing substance. Evidence from many studies has shown that exposure to UV radiation from indoor tanning is associated with an increased risk of melanoma and other skin cancers such as squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma. Melanoma is the most deadly form of skin cancer because it spreads very quickly from the skin to the internal organs.

Studies

• Indoor tanning devices are classified as known carcinogens, or cancer-causing agents.

  The International Agency for Research on Cancer concluded that indoor tanning devices are more dangerous than previously thought and moved these devices into the highest cancer risk category, "carcinogenic to humans," in July 2009.

  A May 2010 University of Minnesota study found that indoor tanning almost doubles the risk of dangerous melanoma skin cancer, and the more hours spent tanning, the greater the risk. Frequent users, classified as those who had more than 100 indoor tanning sessions or 50 hours of indoor tanning, were at even higher risk.

False Claims

• The risks of indoor tanning should be of serious concern.

  Despite the known risks of indoor tanning, many tanning salons continue to perpetuate myths that indoor tanning is safe, according to the Federal Trade Commission's consumer alert. Claims that have been found to be false, says the FTC, include that indoor tanning is safer than the sun, causes less skin cancer and is a safe way to increase vitamin D levels. Tanning beds utilize UVA rays, which are long-wave rays that penetrate more deeply into the skin than UVB rays. UVA rays cause more damage due to this deeper penetration, such as premature aging, melanoma and other skin cancers and eye cancer.

Premature Aging

• Photoaging refers to the damage done to the skin by exposure to UV rays. In fact, most of the skin changes we associate with aging are caused by photoaging. These changes include fine and deep lines and wrinkles, crow's feet around the eyes, sagging eyelids, sagging skin, brown spots, a yellowish tone to the skin, broken blood vessels and a leathery, lizard-like appearance. Tanning from any source accelerates all the signs of photoaging, but indoor tanning is believed to cause this damage more quickly and severely.