Indoor Tanning

Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is a proven human carcinogen, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

• Frequent tanners using new high-pressure sunlamps may receive as much as 12 times the annual UVA dose compared to the dose they receive from sun exposure.
• Nearly 30 million people tan indoors in the U.S. every year12; 2.3 million of them are teens.
• On an average day, more than one million Americans use tanning salons.
• Seventy one percent of tanning salon patrons are girls and women aged 16-29.
• First exposure to tanning beds in youth increases melanoma risk by 75 percent.
• People who use tanning beds are 2.5 times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma and 1.5 times more likely to develop basal cell carcinoma.
• The indoor tanning industry has an annual estimated revenue of $5 billion.

Sources

11th ROC: Ultraviolet Radiation Related Exposures. 27 January 2005. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. 15 April 2008.

Demierre MF. Time for the national legislation of indoor tanning to protect minors. Arch Dermatol 2006; 139:520-4.

Nearly 30 million people tan indoors in the U.S. every year12; 2.3 million of them are teens.

Spencer JM, Amonette RA. Indoor tanning: Risks, benefits, and future trends. J AM Acad Dermatol 1995; 33:288-98.Spencer JM, Amonette RA. Indoor tanning: Risks, benefits, and future trends. J AM Acad Dermatol 1995; 33:288-98.

Swerdlow AJ, Weinstock MA. Do tanning lamps cause melanoma? An epidemiologic assessment. J Am Acad Dermatol 1998; 38:89-98.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer Working Group on artificial ultraviolet (UV) light and skin cancer. The association of use of sunbeds with cutaneous malignant melanoma and other skin cancers: Asystematic review. International Journal of Cancer 2006; 120:1116-1122.

Karagas MR, Stannard VA, Mott LA, Slattery MJ, Spencer SK, and Weinstock MA. Use of Tanning Devices and Risk of Basal Cell and Squamous Cell Skin Cancers. J. Natl. Cancer Inst. 2002 94: 224; doi:10.1093/jnci/94.3.224