Local governments have banned minors from using them and even the FDA is considering taking that step, but tanning beds remain popular. New research, however, suggests that indoor tanning might be riskier than previously thought.
In a study of about 2,200 people, those who used indoor tanning beds had a 74 percent higher risk of getting melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, than those who did not, according to new research published this week in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
The study asked about lifetime sun exposure and found the risks increased the most for those who tanned for 10 years or longer.
The study provides some of the strongest evidence yet of the link between tanning beds and melanoma, which strikes nearly 69,000 Americans every year, killing nearly 9,000, this USA Today story explains. Although the folks at the Tanning Association disagree with the findings, the story states.
Last year, the World Health Organization put tanning beds on its list of known carcinogens. Local governments including Howard County's have banned people under 18 from using tanning beds and FDA is considering doing the same. Health care reform legislation even includes a 10 percent tax on tanning. And we told you about a study earlier this year that likened tanning to an addiction. Yet, many remain devoted to the tanning bed. Are you?
AP photo