Tanning beds found to increase melanoma risk
Researches have found that the risk of melanoma increased by 74 percent for those who used indoor tanning beds apposed to those who did not. The results of the study showed staggering results that showed melanoma is directly linked to indoor tanning bed use.
One study took place from 2004-2007 in Minnesota. In this study researches looked into 1,167 cases of melanoma and found that 63% of the people who suffered from melanoma had used tanning beds. The study also found that it didn’t matter whether the tanning beds blocked UVA or UVB rays. The results were found to be consistent as well regardless of the age, gender, tumor location, or the type of tanning bed used.
Dr. Allan Halpern, vice president of the Skin Cancer Foundation, hopes that these findings will help spur the FDA to further regulate tanning beds. Halpern hopes that these findings will help keep people from using tanning beds, and help spread the public’s awareness of the dangers of using indoor tanning beds.
On the other side of the argument, John Overstreet, spokesman of the Indoor Tanning Association, is fighting that the latest findings only show contradicting results. It was recently found that UVA light does not cause melanoma in a study by the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center. Overstreet believes that more research has to be done before a final verdict can be given on the issue of the dangers of using indoor tanning beds. Overstreet claims that these findings are shown more in the media due to those having their own personal agendas. 
Facebook comments:
This kind of breathless hype isn’t doing anyone good. We need UV exposure for the skin to generate vitamin D, without which we suffer all kinds of maladies, especially during the sunless winter months. I prefer 20-30 minutes of exposure to the summer sun, but since that kind of UV exposure simply isn’t to be had at latitudes north of San Diego for nearly half the year, a tanning bed or UV lamp, properly used, can be a good substitute.
“A 74 percent increase in melanoma” statistic is meaningless without putting it into context. Seventy-four percent increase compared to what? If the melanoma rate is extremely tiny for those who don’t use a tanning bed, even a 300 percent increase for those who do may not be worth worrying about.
I think if the article is found correct, I don’t think it pertains to occasional users. Some people use these beds regurlary; some infrequently. I use them once a year in the summer to start a tan so I won’t burn in the sun. I don’t go twice a week all year round. The media is on the band wagon about this because they need something to print. I’m not going to live in fear. If I did, I’d be worried about everything around me, because everything is bad for you according to some.
Another issue with articles such as these is that they clump all tanning bed users into one category, which simply cannot be done. There are people who use tanning beds multiple times per week for 10-20 ore more minutes at a time. These individuals expose themselves to much more UV than lets say somebody who maybe uses a tanning bed once a week or less, but they are counted in the same group.
Along the same lines, one cannot claim that there is a direct link between cancer and indoor tanning, but must instead look at the UV exposure. A tanning bed delivers a super-charged blast of UV to the user such that spending 10 minutes in a bed might be equivalent to being in the sun without sunscreen for 30+ minutes. So to simply say using a tanning bed increases cancer risks is false, one must actually look at UV exposure amounts between the set of users using the beds vs. those who do not. I would venture a guess that these tanning bed users exposed themselves to much more UV than the those who simply tan outdoors or spend time outdoors. So in reality, there should be some mention of quantity of use to give the research credibility. Perhaps if someone were to be very conservative with their tanning bed use this difference would be negligible.(btw I’m not a tanning bed user at all, I’m actually just a biochemist who performs cancer research and want people to question all these pop-science articles.)
Bahumbug. Psst you can use the proper sunscreen and still benefit from the Vit D the suns rays offer, sunscreen is not a barrier to the Suns effects on our immune system or to those who use the Sun as an aphrodesiac (mood “lifter”) during Winter months or as a natural anti-depressant.
What is interesting to me is that the controversy of tanning beds causing melanoma is comparable to that of smoking causing lung cancer. Many people who smoke end up with lung cancer, but there are also people suffering with lung cancer who have never smoked a day in their lives. The same is true of melanoma and tanning. Many tanners end up with melanoma, although people may get this type of skin cancer without ever stepping foot in a tanning bed. My feeling on this issue is better safe than sorry. A few years ago, I was diagnosed with stage 2 melanoma cancer (at only 24 years old). A huge section of my leg had to be removed that included all the layers of my skin. I thank God that I did not have to go through chemotherapy and am a cancer survivor. Tanning beds are not worth the risk of losing your life.