Study: Tanning beds as deadly as arsenic

**SHELBYDOG** · 07-28-2009, 08:24 PM

By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer Maria Cheng, Ap Medical Writer – 2 hrs 1 min ago
LONDON – International cancer experts have moved tanning beds and other sources of ultraviolet radiation into the top cancer risk category, deeming them as deadly as arsenic and mustard gas. For years, scientists have described tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation as "probable carcinogens."

A new analysis of about 20 studies concludes the risk of skin cancer jumps by 75 percent when people start using tanning beds before age 30. Experts also found that all types of ultraviolet radiation caused worrying mutations in mice, proof the radiation is carcinogenic. Previously, only one type of ultraviolet radiation was thought to be lethal.

The new classification means tanning beds and other sources of ultraviolet radiation are definite causes of cancer, alongside tobacco, the hepatitis B virus and chimney sweeping, among others.

The research was published online in the medical journal Lancet Oncology on Wednesday, by experts at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, the cancer arm of the World Health Organization.

"People need to be reminded of the risks of sunbeds," said Vincent Cogliano, one of the cancer researchers. "We hope the prevailing culture will change so teens don't think they need to use sunbeds to get a tan."

Most lights used in tanning beds give off mainly ultraviolet radiation, which cause skin and eye cancer, according to the International Agency for Cancer Research.

The classification of tanning beds as carcinogenic was disputed by Kathy Banks, chief executive of The Sunbed Association, a European trade association of tanning bed makers and operators.

"The fact that is continuously ignored is that there is no proven link between the responsible use of sunbeds and skin cancer," Banks said in a statement. She said most users of tanning beds use them less than 20 times a year.

But as use of tanning beds has increased among people under 30, doctors have seen a parallel rise in the numbers of young people with skin cancer. In Britain, melanoma, the deadliest kind of skin cancer, is now the leading cancer diagnosed in women in their 20s. Normally, skin cancer rates are highest in people over 75.

Previous studies found younger people who regularly use tanning beds are eight times more likely to get melanoma than people who have never used them. In the past, WHO warned people younger than 18 to stay away from tanning beds.

Cogliano cautioned that ultravoilet radiation is not healthy, whether it comes from a tanning bed or from the sun. The American Cancer Society advises people to try bronzing or self-tanning creams instead of tanning beds.

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090729/...ng_beds_cancer

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**ElleGee** · 07-28-2009, 08:34 PM

Yick. I never understood the whole tanning bed phenom. I know long sun exposure is harmful but you do need natural sun to process vitamin D right? Safe sun exposure times are there for a reason.,

Leather skin is such a turn off... Well, except on a beardie

**jasmine** · 07-28-2009, 08:55 PM

woops, I guess we posted the same story at the same time...

dang, you beat me by 3 minutes LOL

I always thought that older women that spent the years in a tanning bed looked like leather.

**SHELBYDOG** · 07-28-2009, 09:06 PM

Originally Posted by jasmine

woops, I guess we posted the same story at the same time...

dang, you beat me by 3 minutes LOL

I always thought that older women that spent the years in a tanning bed looked like leather.

And their faces look like a potato going rotten when it starts shrinking & crinkling...

**krisharry** · 07-29-2009, 10:11 AM

My SIL is 33 and looks closer to 45ish from all the tanning. She goes 5 days a week and her skin color is not even tan anymore it is like reddish/orange and icky.

**MOM2B2003** · 07-29-2009, 10:29 AM

Hmmm....well, I go tanning 3 times a week during the summer months and a couple times a week during the winter months.

It is not well-known that tanning (in natural sunlight or in a tanning bed) helps to prevent yeast infections. When I was BFing DS2, I got terrible thrush on my breasts, and my OB/GYN actually wrote a letter of medical necessity for me to use a tanning bed. (I live in the city, and tanning topless is not an option.)

Also, just like with sunlight, tanning beds help with Vitamin D. A few months back, my family doctor was actually concerned with the amount of Vitamin D I absorb. I told him I go tanning, and he then said that he no longer had a concern because that would help me.

But, obviously, I don't look like leather or tan too much. Because the doctor did not even realize I was a "tanner" until I told him! I do it during the summer months mostly just because I am so fair complected that if I don't I will fry every time I try to use our pool.

So.....tanning beds bad for you? Not entirely. Tanning beds good for you? Not entirely. I will say that tanning has more "good" side effects than smoking does!! And one can choose whether or not to tan. I can't always choose whether or not to inhale someone's second-hand smoke!!

**krisharry** · 07-29-2009, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by MOM2B2003

Hmmm....well, I go tanning 3 times a week during the summer months and a couple times a week during the winter months.

It is not well-known that tanning (in natural sunlight or in a tanning bed) helps to prevent yeast infections. When I was BFing DS2, I got terrible thrush on my breasts, and my OB/GYN actually wrote a letter of medical necessity for me to use a tanning bed. (I live in the city, and tanning topless is not an option.)

Also, just like with sunlight, tanning beds help with Vitamin D. A few months back, my family doctor was actually concerned with the amount of Vitamin D I absorb. I told him I go tanning, and he then said that he no longer had a concern because that would help me.

But, obviously, I don't look like leather or tan too much. Because the doctor did not even realize I was a "tanner" until I told him! I do it during the summer months mostly just because I am so fair complected that if I don't I will fry every time I try to use our pool.

So.....tanning beds bad for you? Not entirely. Tanning beds good for you? Not entirely. I will say that tanning has more "good" side effects than smoking does!! And one can choose whether or not to tan. I can't always choose whether or not to inhale someone's second-hand smoke!!

Yes, it does have a few benefits, but for most people the risks outweigh those benefits. Most people can get enough vitaminD through everyday sun exposure. And even if you don't look like a tanner, there is probably damage done underneath your skin that you can't see. So people should choose wisely whether to tan or not to.

**jasmine** · 07-29-2009, 11:30 AM

have you ever seen where they put you under that special light to look at your skin to see if theres sun damage? I've seen it before on tv done to the most normal/healthy person and all the blotches and skin damage shows up. I thought it would be neat to get that done just to see for myself.

**krisharry** · 07-29-2009, 12:45 PM

Originally Posted by jasmine

have you ever seen where they put you under that special light to look at your skin to see if theres sun damage? I've seen it before on tv done to the most normal/healthy person and all the blotches and skin damage shows up. I thought it would be neat to get that done just to see for myself.

Yeah, I saw that, I would be afraid to do it, no sunscreen when I was a kid. Just flash em your coppertone tan. LOL

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