Dermatologists have long known that ultraviolet (UV) radiation from the sun or artificial light sources, such as tanning beds and sun lamps, can cause skin cancer. The Department of Health and Human Services has made it official: ultraviolet radiation is now on the list of known cancer-causing agents.
More than a million people a day invest time and money (and put their health at risk) in tanning salons. The damage they receive from indoor lamps is just as dangerous as outdoor sun exposure. Most salon bulbs provide a significant amount of UVA and UVB radiation – and both types of ultraviolet radiation are also found in the outdoor sun and can cause various types of damage.
Wake-up Call
"This report should be a wake-up call to people who continue to tan – through natural sunlight or artificial sources – despite our repeated warnings," said the President of the American Academy of Dermatology.
One person dies from melanoma every hour. Dermatologists are treating more fatal skin cancers in remarkably young patients. The common denominator is overexposure to the sun before the age of 18 when their skin cells are especially vulnerable to injury from the sun's rays, according to Edward T. Creagan, MD, a cancer specialist at Mayo Clinic.
"I advise my patients to use sunscreen as routinely as they buckle their safety belts," said Dr. Creagan. Brief exposure to sunlight helps your body produce needed vitamin D. But using a sunscreen to increase sun exposure during intentional tanning tends to defeat its purpose. |
