According to the infamous maxim coined by MTV’s reality show Jersey Shore, one of the main tenets for any guido or guidette is this: Tan.
However, for those who religiously follow that canon, there may be more to be worried about than being labeled a “grenade.” According to a study that was recently released by researchers from Brigham and Women’s Hospital@@http://www.brighamandwomens.org/@@ and Harvard University in Boston@@http://www.harvard.edu/@@, a person’s increased use of tanning beds can also increase that person’s risk for skin cancer — a risk that garnered a large amount of attention and legislation but has been continuously challenged by the tanning industry.@@meh on the whole Jersey Shore thing.@@
In the study, researchers followed 73,494 nurses who participated in a health study from 1989 to 2009 and tracked their tanning bed habits during high school, college, and between the ages of 25 and 35.@@http://articles.latimes.com/2011/oct/25/news/la-heb-tanning-booth-skin-cancer-melanoma-basal-squamous-cell-20111025@@ For every four visits per year to a tanning booth, the study noted that the risk for basal and squamous cell carcinoma@@http://www.ucsfhealth.org/conditions/basal_cell_and_squamous_cell_carcinoma/@@ increased by 15 percent while the risk for melanoma rose to 11 percent. Researchers also found that using tanning booths in the younger age range (during high school and college) had a stronger effect on cancer risk.
As a result of similar studies, prominent organizations including the American Academy of Pediatrics@@http://www.aap.org/@@, Skin Cancer Foundation@@http://www.skincancer.org/@@ and the American Academy of Dermatology@@http://www.aad.org/@@, have all issued advisories against the use of tanning beds. In 2009, the World Health Organization officially labeled tanning beds as a Level 1 carcinogen, placing it in the same category as cigarettes and plutonium.@@http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2011/10/state-senator-ted-lieu-weighs-in-on-tanning-bed-legislation/@@
Likewise, 32 individual states across the nation have enacted legislation that prohibits minors under the age of 14 from using tanning beds.@@http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2047284/California-state-ban-tanning-beds-minors.html@@ At the beginning of this year, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed SB746 into law, which made California the first state in the nation to ban tanning beds for minors under the age of 18.@@http://www.calderm.org/leg_issues_tanning.vp.html@@
“I think kids should have parental consent before they submit themselves to UV indoor tanning,” said Dr. Jean Tang, an assistant dermatology professor at Stanford University’s School of Medicine.@@http://med.stanford.edu/profiles/Jean_Tang/@@ “It is clear that tobacco is addictive and causes lung cancer, and by the same analogy ultraviolet light emitted by indoor tanning beds can be addictive and will cause skin cancer if you use it enough.”
However, not everyone believes that this is the case. John Overstreet, the executive director of the Indoor Tanning Association@@http://www.linkedin.com/pub/john-overstreet/7/837/163@@, disagrees with the findings of many scientific studies on tanning beds and pointed out that increases in vitamin D deficiencies are a larger health problem.
“If someone said they got skin cancer, that means that they got in a tanning bed and then they got skin cancer,” Overstreet said. “Getting a suntan is something people enjoy in spite of the fact that they have been told over and over again that it’s probably not good for them. They enjoy it, because it makes them feel good, and I would argue that it’s your body telling you to do something that you need to do to feel healthy.”
Although Overstreet said some people of certain ethnic backgrounds should be concerned about skin exposure and acknowledged that people should be careful about overexposing themselves to ultraviolet rays, he said the tanning industry’s critics “often try to confuse the media, public, policy makers and confuse advocacy with science.”
“This industry has a very powerful enemy … and if you look at where the skin care message comes from, it will lead you back to the folks that make a lot of money,” Overstreet said in reference to the skin care industry.@@coming from the guy who makes money off the tanning industry@@ “There’s this group that says, ‘If you’re exposed to sunlight, you get skin cancer,’ and nothing is further from the truth.”
Tang called the accusations posed by the Indoor Tanning Association “crazy,” and claimed that the association is advocating for the tanning industry and has more to gain than physicians.
“I don’t make any money by my patients not going to indoor tanning salons. In fact, I’d make more money because the rate of diagnoses would increase, but I don’t care about that,” Tang said.@@sure@@ “We are physicians and are charged with the care of our patients, so I advocate for the patient, their survival and their good health.”
In addition, Tang said the way in which indoor tanning has seeped into popular culture is counterproductive to the health of many people around the nation.
“I think what’s really crazy is that publications and magazines like Shape or Self and other beauty or fashion magazines have paid a lot of foot service and energy into the tanning industry, but somehow the scientific message that indoor tanning is harmful has not gotten out,” Tang said. “If you think back 40 or 50 years ago, people used to think cigarettes weren’t that bad, but the scientific evidence has proven that it causes a host of diseases. It’s only a matter of time before the facts come out about indoor tanning.”