by Eve Redstone

Created on: April 12, 2008

Tanning beds were very fashionable at one point. The manufacturers touted them as the safe tanning option, they even claimed that the risk of skin cancer was reduced by their use. It took a few years of research to discount this claim.

Now we know that any tanning is unsafe. The manufacturers claim that the beds use the safer end of the uv spectrum. Tanning occurs from uvb rays and uva rays, uvb rays burn the skin but uva rays are just as damaging because they age the skin.

Direct links have now been found between the number of times a person recall getting sun-burnt and whether or not they develop skin cancer. This risk goes back to childhood.

The risk of skin cancer is increased every time our skin gets burnt from childhood onwards. The risk isn't just to burnt areas, skin cancers can appear in areas that the sun has never seen.

An all year tan in the middle ages was a sign of poverty because it was attained through outdoor work, in the late twentieth century it was a sign of wealth because it meant winter holidays, but now in the twenty-first century an all year tan can be viewed as a sign of stupidity.

Much research has been carried out over the last twenty years that has conclusively shown that the risks of skin cancer are increased every time the skin is burnt. This can occur on a tanning bed just as easily as in the outdoors.

Massive public education campaigns are undertaken throughout the world regarding the risks of too much sun exposure. This is particularly true in Australia, where skin cancer is a leading cause of death. It is rare now to see an Australian sunbathing, most of the sunbathers are tourists.

Allowing minors to use tanning beds undermines this message. We all know that teenagers consider themselves immortal, and health risks are things that concern other, older, people. For this reason it is our responsibility to prevent , wherever possible, them taking these risks.

To a teenager appearance and acceptance by their peers is all important, far more important than nebulous maybe risks twenty years in the future, that is why cigarette companies target them.

A blanket ban should be in place on the use of tanning beds by minors. There are other options available for those wishing to appear tanned that are much safer, such as tinted moisturizers and spray on tans. A better option again would be for the fashion industry and media to respect the multiplicity of colors of skin in the world and celebrate them all.

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