Our Own Skin: The Truth About Tanning
A recent study showed that individuals who had ever used indoor tanning beds had a 74 percent higher chance of developing melanoma compared to “never-users.”
Want a “healthy tan”? Increasingly, research suggests this popular warm weather quest is just a mirage. Tanning is not healthy at all. For more than 10 years, we have known that exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet radiation (UVR) causes skin cancer, including melanoma, which is responsible for 80 percent of skin cancer deaths. We can all protect ourselves from the harmful effects of the sun by minimizing our midday sun exposure, wearing protective clothing including hats and sunglasses, applying sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) greater than 15 before going outdoors, and reapplying sunscreen every two hours. Sunscreen is safe to use on children six months or older. More recently, artificial sources of UVR, such as indoor tanning…
