Indoor tanning is often touted as safe and even good for you. Our Healthy Skeptic sheds some light on the claims.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
The Claim: Indoor tanning beds are safer than the sun.
Everyone knows that basking in the sun is bad for your skin. It’s associated with an increased risk of skin cancer and premature skin aging. That’s why some people turn to indoor tanning, lured by claims that it’s safer. In fact, just the opposite may be true.
Like the sun, tanning devices expose you to ultraviolet, or UV, radiation.
But the UV rays from indoor tanning are usually more intense…up to 15 times stronger than the midday sun at the Mediterranean sea.
Research shows that these rays, like the sun, can damage DNA, which may lead to cancer.
Indeed a number of studies have found that people who tan indoors are at increased risk of skin cancer, including melanoma, the deadliest type.
The risk is greatest in those who started tanning indoors before age 35.
Young people who use tanning beds may believe that skin cancer can’t strike them. If so, they’re wrong. Melanoma is one of the most common cancers in people under 40, especially women.
Other common misconceptions about indoor tanning include:
- It doesn’t cause sunburn. In fact, people can and do get burns from indoor tanning.
- It provides a protective “base tan.” Actually, a tan from indoor devices typically gives little if any protection from future sunburn.
- It’s a good way to get vitamin D. Now it’s true that like the sun, indoor tanning causes our bodies to make vitamin D… and some people may benefit from more vitamin D.
But tanning beds usually provide more UV radiation than necessary for producing vitamin D, and the risks may outweigh any benefits.
Perhaps the biggest myth is that indoor tanning produces a “healthy tan.” In fact, a tan is a sign of damage to your skin. If you want that bronzed look, use a self-tanning lotion or spray…and close the door on tanning beds.
Helping you be a healthy skeptic, I’m Robert Davis.