Canadian Tanning Industry Fires Back At Critics

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Tired of its products being portrayed as little more than carcinogens for the vain, Canada's tanning industry is launching an aggressive publicity campaign this week. As part of this campaign, the industry is questioning scientists' warnings about exposure to ultraviolet rays and accusing a major dermatology group of modifying its public message in return for money from sunscreen makers.

Doctors have long expressed concern about the steadily growing rate of melanoma, yet the Joint Canadian Tanning Association suggests that experts have exaggerated the need to protect against the sun or avoid artificial ultraviolet light.

"I think the message has gotten too extreme," says Doug McNabb, the organization's president. "This is pure-abstinence messaging which, to me, doesn’t make biological sense. People only moved indoors in the last 120 years—before that, the entire race primarily survived outdoors."

Dermatologists, however, dismiss the tanning industry’s counter-offensive, saying it ignores well-established connections between skin cancer and UV exposure in general, as well as evidence that tanning-salon use specifically makes people more likely to get cancer.

In late 2006, the World Health Organization recommended curbing use of tanning equipment by children and young adults, citing research on the risks.

The tanning group is setting up a Web site that it says will expose the myths about tanning and cancer, and is sending out news releases to media outlets countrywide. But it is not just trying to defend the safety of its machines; it is also saying UV exposure can offer health benefits in regard to vitamin D.
The industry is focusing on the mounting evidence that deficient levels of vitamin D—created naturally when ultraviolet rays hit the skin—are a factor in various cancers and other diseases, especially in such northern climates such (as Canada) that have a shortage of strong sunlight.

The public-relations offensive comes just before the Canadian Dermatology Association's annual sun-awareness week.
McNabb, who runs the Fabutan chain of salons, says one of his association's key messages is that only excessive sun exposure, resulting in sunburns, has been proven to increase the development of skin cancer. He also argues that no study published in a peer-reviewed medical journal has ever shown that tanning leads to cancer. A tan can actually protect people from ultraviolet rays, he adds.

In addition, the tanning industry is taking issue with the Canadian Dermatology Association's links to sunscreen manufacturers. It notes that, for every product that qualifies to use the association's seal of approval, the company must pay the group $5,000.
That calls into question the integrity of the advice the association provides on the use of sunscreen and other types of protection, the tanning group charges.

Source: National Post