By Kaleigh Homer ’15

On an average day in the United States, more than one million people tan in tanning salons. 35 percent of American adults, 59 percent of college students and seventeen percent of teens have reported using a tanning bed in their lifetime. Tanning indoors and outdoors are both dangerous. About 76,100 new cases of melanomas will be diagnosed per year (about 43,890 in men and 32,210 in women). About 9,710 people are expected to die of melanoma every year (about 6,470 men and 3,240 women).

“I like to tan outside because it is more effective than indoor tanning in my opinion. I know that it is bad for me but tanning makes me look prettier; I don’t want to look like a ghost. I’d rather be tan now and then have problems later,” said freshman Rachel Calderon.

This large number of people, many of them teen and young adults, are tanning despite the well-known risks. When tanning outdoors one can get the same sunrays as from tanning indoors, which are UVA and UVB rays. The significant differences between the two types of rays are related to their wavelengths, but both cause damage to the skin. While the longer UVA rays penetrate the skin deeper, they also break down collagen and elastic tissue and generate free radicals and oxidative damage. The shorter UVB rays cannot reach this deep, but they cause mutations in the DNA of skin cells in the higher layers of skin and cause sunburns.

The difference between tanning indoor and outdoor is that tanning beds emit UVA rays. The high-pressure bulbs used in tanning salons emit doses of UVA as much as 12 times that of the sun. Not surprisingly, people who use tanning salons are 2.5 times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma, and 1.5 times more likely to develop basal cell carcinoma. According to recent research, first exposure to tanning beds in youth increases melanoma risk by 75 percent.

Sunlamps and tanning beds promise consumers a bronzed body year-round, but the ultraviolet (UV) radiation from these devices poses serious health risks. Exposure to UV radiation—whether from the sun or from artificial sources such as sunlamps used in tanning beds—increases the risk of developing skin cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Melanoma is linked to getting severe sunburns, especially at a young age.

“Even though I know tanning is dangerous it relaxes me and I like the way it feels. It also releases a lot of tension and anger. The tanning bed can be addicting [but]  it is so relaxing,” said junior Nicole Dando.

Those in the indoor tanning business believe that “tanning can be beneficial in small increments and more sporadically rather than very often. If people who tan are smart with their tanning, they will have a healthy glow. It is well known that indoor tanning can cause cancer so if a person chooses to expose their skin to the sun, I recommend seeing a dermatologist to make sure there are not any premature cancerous spots forming on your skin,” said Alex Fennington, a manager at Solar Planet in Olney.