Tanning bed users ignore cancer risk

By Rachel Stockton (rachels@foodconsumer.org)

Back in the 1930s when Walt Disney released Snow White, American children heard the lily skinned damsel asking her magic mirror "who's the fairest of them all," reflecting a historic trend that viewed fair skin as an asset.

If Snow White were a contemporary American teen, she would likely head to the nearest tanning bed after hearing her mirror proclaim her the whitest chick in the neighborhood.

Unfortunately for contemporary Snow Whites, a group of 20 scientists have deemed tanning beds as one of the "definite causes of cancer," and more dangerous than arsenic laced mustard gas.

The news is the worst for young women who start using tanning beds before the age of 30. According to the symposium of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, young women who start tanning at an early age increase their risk of skin cancer by 75%. In Britain, melanoma is the most common form of cancer to strike women under the age of 30. In addition to warning their daughters about the dangers of alcohol and unprotected sex, mothers will soon add "avoid using tanning beds at all costs" to their litany of sage, motherly advice.

Traditional, conventional wisdom has been that not all forms of ultraviolet rays are carcinogenic; thus, during the 1990s through the new millennium, tanning beds claiming to be "safer" than the sun began to surface. This newest announcement, however, has thoroughly debunked that once popular myth. Virtually all forms of ultraviolet radiation are carcinogenic.

And the risk is cumulative. Most cancer experts agree that the risk of skin cancer continues to increase the more that bare skin is exposed to the sun. A significant burn for a 13 year old increases her risk of cancer throughout her thirties.

That doesn't mean there are no other options for young women who would like to add some color to their skin. The American Cancer Society suggests using bronzing creams and self tanning lotions over tanning beds.