Indoor Tanning
Home tanning beds continue to be in widespread use in spite of the recent classification of such devices as cancer risks. In fact, many sites now offer home tanning beds for sale, and while it is unlikely that such devices will be banned outright any time soon, their continued use warrants a bit of information about their various aspects.
Here are some facts on tanning beds that may give you some reason to reconsider using them, or at the very least encourage you to use them more sensibly.
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More than 1 million people go to a tanning salon in the United States every day.
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Almost ¾ of all tanning salon customers are females aged from 16 to 29 years old.
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Almost 28 million people use indoor tanning devices in the United States, more than 2 million of who are teenagers.
It is thought that manufacturers of commercial and home tanning beds and similar devices make as much as $5 billion every year. This represents a whopping 500% increase from 1992.
Scientists and health experts from the World Health Organization and the United States Department of Health and Human Services has announced that UV radiation from home tanning beds and similar devices are now classified as carcinogens.
All indoor tanning equipment including tanning beds emit UVA and UVB radiation. The radiation that is produced by tanning beds are at least as powerful as that produced by the sun, and may even be stronger.
A study conducted in Sweden seems to indicate that UV radiation from tanning beds may increases the chances of developing melanoma, particularly if exposure begins at an early age.
Many other studies have shown that the UV radiation from indoor tanning devices such as tanning beds may result in a higher risk for melanoma as well as non-melanoma skin cancers.
Statistics show that the risk of developing melanoma is significantly higher in people that have were exposed to UV radiation from tanning beds before they were 35 years old.
The UV radiation produced by tanning beds can cause damage to DNA in the skin cells. This could lead to a host of health issues including premature skin aging, impaired immune function, and eye conditions such as cataracts and ocular melanoma.
Due to the dangerous risks associated with the use of tanning beds, using these devices to get vitamin D is not recommended.
In spite of the WHO’s recommendation to ban the use of tanning beds among minors, more than 30 states in the country currently do not have legislation that regulate the use of tanning beds by minors.
The American Academy of Dermatology Association supports the campaign to ban the production and sale of tanning beds for non-medical use.
A number of guidelines with regard to home tanning beds for sale and the manufacture of tanning beds have been proposed by the Academy, which includes the following restrictions:
a) All tanning devices including tanning beds should carry a warning from the Surgeon General.
b) Any device that uses UVA or UVB radiation should not be allowed to use the words “safe”, "harmless" or other similar words in their advertising.
