Should minors be allowed to use tanning beds?

No

1 of 55

by Ruth Woodhouse

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Here in Australia we have been given a shocking "wake-up" call regarding the dangers of tanning beds with the recent death of a beautiful young woman. Clare Oliver presented the most powerful argument possible against young people (or anybody) using solariums to get a tan, as she spoke of the way her world came crashing down around her the day she was told she had melanoma.

That was four years ago when Clare, aged 22 at the time, had just completed her university degree and seemingly had the world at her feet. As she approached her death, she was compelled to speak out in an effort to warn other young people about the grave dangers of solariums. When she was 19, Clare had taken up a cheap offer whereby she could buy 10 sessions and get 20. She said that the girl working at the tanning salon told her that the fastest way to get a tan was to go in every second day and use speed cream - so that's what she did. However, after the 10th session she was starting to burn and it hurt, so she stopped. Her tragic comment in retrospect was, "I guess I stopped too late." Clare was absolutely convinced that those 10 sessions in a tanning bed had significantly contributed to the melanoma which was to take her life at such an early age.

Several interviews conducted with Clare included comments from Associate Professor, Dr Grant McArthur from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia. He gave the shocking information that a tanning bed delivers five times as much UV radiation as the midday sun. He did not hesitate to say that this phenomenon is "clearly linked to increased rates of skin cancer" and further stated that it is apparent that "UV radiation from solariums can mutate cells, and personally I wouldn't go near one."

Australia has long been referred to as a "suburnt country". We are known as a land of "sun-worshippers" who flock to our wonderful beaches in summer and soak up our abundant sunshine. However, for several decades now there has been a shift in overall attitude from the concept of a copper skin tone being associated with beauty and health. The glaring facts are that people who have spent significant time in their youth baking their bodies on beaches are dying of deadly melanomas at a terrifying rate. These are not only older people either. There have been some horrifying examples on TV current affairs shows of young people in their prime developing carcinomas that have eaten their bodies at an alarmingly rapid speed. What's more, we are told by health experts that even one or two bad cases of sunburn in your youth can set you up for skin cancer in the future.

It is now a few decades since Australia launched its well-known and successful "slip slop slap" campaign, where a now-famous jingle told us to "slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on a hat". Most of us are much more sun-smart than we used to be and a significant percentage of parents are very conscientious about making sure their children are protected from the sun's deadly rays. Yes, we are now being made aware that we need to also ensure make sure we get a regular dose of Vitamin D from the sun - but this can be acquired from quite minimal exposure, without endangering our skin.

Nevertheless, there are still too many - mainly young people - who ignore the strong messages that have been out there since the early 80s. They think they are invincible and that bad things like skin cancer only happen to "other people". What's more, they still think that a suntanned body is a beautiful body and the epitome of good health and vitality.

If they do heed the message at all, they look for an alternative way to be tanned. For increasing numbers in recent years this has meant regular sessions at solariums, which have seen a major boom and are springing up all over the place in response to the high demand. For too long we have been told that this is a safe way of getting a tan. Of course those involved in the industry will want people to believe that and will go all-out to convince people of how innocuous they can be - just as tobacco companies want us to believe smoking has no link to lung cancer.

Only recently has the terrible truth about the dangers of these solariums begun to surface as the evidence has mounted. In spite of the fact that more young people are trying to be sun-smart in these times, melanoma is now amongst the most common form of cancer in 15 to 30 year olds. How can we fail to see that there must be some link between these terrible statistics and the solarium phenomenon?

It's certainly high time that these solariums were regulated far more tightly. In a report on Australian "60 Minutes" the comment was made that "without proper supervision, many young people like Clare Oliver just don't know when to stop - they are literally dying for that killer tan."

I certainly do not believe that young people under the age of 18 should be allowed to use these tanning beds. I don't think they should even be able to do so with parental permission. Not all parents are properly informed and if they read material produced by the solarium industry it will be very biassed in favour of their own agenda. Also young people can be very expert at wearing their parents down and convincing them that there is no harm in it - or that they will be sensible and always use them with moderation.

It is the responsibility of the adults in society to protect young people, who cannot possibly make mature, balanced judgments about such things. Many of them will be driven by what their peers consider to be cool and their overwhelming desire to have a sexy body-image. As Clare said, "My Mum told me it was abnormal to get in a box and fry myself, but I told her it was cool and everyone was doing it". Isn't that just what a teenager would say!

Given a few more years, they will be able to make more informed choices and it's highly likely that many who would rush into what could prove to be a deadly course of solarium sessions in their teens, would not dare take such a terrible risk with the added insight they have even by their 20s. Teenagers have a tendency to think that adults are just trying to cramp their style and are blowing the risks up out of proportion. However, if a teenager who has had parental consent to have solarium treatment goes on to develop deadly melanoma in their 20s, for that individual all the arguments about rights to choice and the claims that "everyone is doing it" are rendered meaningless - they will be wishing they had been protected against their own immature judgments.

It really is high time too that our society got over the dumb idea that you have to have a golden glow to be healthy and beautiful. Obviously there is nothing remotely beautiful, healthy or cool about skin cancer. Yes, brown bodies are beautiful when God made them that way. But bodies that were made creamy white are beautiful too! Natural is beautiful! Okay, if you want a change sometimes get some fake tan - apparently they can be very natural-looking these days. You can even spray them on, which is said to give a more even look. But for goodness sake, it's time we accepted the colour of our skin and learned to love it.

It's certainly not worth frying your body in a box to get a tan that may potentially lead to body-ravaging skin cancer, just when you should have most of your life still ahead of you. The comment was made in one of the interviews with Clare Oliver that tanning beds could more graphically be referred to as "death beds".

So, clearly my answer in this debate is NO! Minors should most definitely NOT be allowed to use tanning beds as we have a solemn responsibility to protect them from self-destruction - and while their bodies are still developing they may well be even more susceptible to the damage that can be done by these human "spit roast" machines. Considering the overwhelming and increasing evidence of how very dangerous they are, I personally think anybody would have to be looking for trouble to use them. So they should definitely be off-limits to the most vulnerable members of our society.


References:

http://www.abc.net.a u/news/video/2007/08 /21/2011113.htm

http://sixtyminutes. ninemsn.com.au/artic le.aspx?id=291312

http://www.news.com. au/heraldsun/story/0 ,21985,22291195-2862 ,00.html

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