Dangers of the Electric Beach -- Tanning beds aren’t necessarily safe alternative....

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Dangers of the Electric Beach -- Tanning beds aren’t necessarily safe alternative to sunlight

July 24,2006
Kate Lohnes
Monitor Staff Writer



Ah, the quintessential summer tan. It feels good, looks nice with pastels and exudes a healthy-looking glow.

Looks can deceive, however. An even tan does not always signify a healthy body. That goes double for tans achieved through tanning beds.

From its beginnings in Europe as a treatment for depression to its stateside crossover in the 1980s, indoor tanning has exploded into a $5 billion a year industry, said Joe Levy, vice president of the industry’s largest trade organization, the International Smart Tan Network. The usual tanning salon clientele is in the 18-to-36-year-old age bracket, Levy said, with gender splits around 65 percent women, 35 percent men. However, the longer the tanning industry sticks around, the more diverse the clientele becomes.

“It has gotten more and more diverse,” Levy said. “It has grown from something that in the 1980s was considered a fad and not a part of people’s routine. There used to be a stigma and that stigma doesn’t really exist anymore.”

While gender stigmas may have eroded, the disagreement surrounding tanning bed safety has yet to fade as the number of melanoma cases in the United States continues to rise. Discussion has moved a step further in Congress, where Representatives Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) and Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced the Tanning Accountability and Notification (TAN) Act in February. If the bill if passes, Brown-Waite said, it would require the Food and Drug Administration to determine if the current warnings on tanning beds properly informs users of their risk.

“It’s about giving warnings,” Brown-Waite said. “Not about banning tanning beds. Let’s have all the info out there so consumers can make an informed decision.”

So is paying for a “fake and bake” bad for your health?

WHY PEOPLE USE THEM

The reasons behind tanning are generally cosmetic, said Harlingen resident and regular tanner Trish Swander. The 39-year-old began using tanning beds in the late 1980s as she trained to be a body builder. Tans make your muscles look firmer, she said, a desirable effect for body builders who, prior to the existence of tanning beds, laid for hours in the sun to achieve deeper skin tones. At the height of her body building career, Swander said she tanned much more than she maybe should have.

“I was tanning at a minimum of three times a week, most of the time while I was competing,” she said. “At one point I was tanning too much. It wouldn’t surprise me to have gone five times a week.”

Most people tan simply to improve their outward appearance, said Linda Bodenhamer, owner of Club Tan in Harlingen. Many young professionals use tanning as an accessory, she said, something that looks nice with business clothes. Many women like a golden shade because it lessens the appearance of stretch marks and cellulite.

“It’s all about looking good and feeling good,” she said. “A lot of women tell me that tan fat looks better than white fat. Some women would rather tan than go to the gym and work out. Tan camouflages (imperfections).”

Tanning bed use can also alleviate certain medical conditions and their symptoms, Levy said, such as seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a mood disorder related to seasonal variations in light. Levy also said exposure to sunlight, whether natural or artificial, spurs the body into creating vitamin D, which is necessary for calcium absorption and strong bones.

THE DEBATE

A darker hue achieved in a tanning bed might cover up your bulges and flaws, but it doesn’t do much for you in the way of personal health, said McAllen dermatologist Rick Lin. There is no such thing as a healthy tan, Lin said — even if you don’t burn in a tanning bed, you still damage your skin with exposure to UV rays.

“Tanning beds are much more dangerous than lying in the sun,” he said. “They have a higher intensity of UV light and are thus worse for you.”

According to the American Academy of Dermatology Web site, UV light has long been associated with skin cancer. The most common form is malignant melanoma, which forms when UV light mutates the DNA in melanocyte cells. The FDA has also listed UV light as a known carcinogen, meaning that it is a substance known to cause cancer in humans. Melanoma has also significantly risen in 20-somethings and teens, many of whom have reported tanning bed use at least three times in their lifetime. Lin said he has treated several young patients who have developed melanoma because of overexposure to UV light. One patient, a 28-year-old woman from Dallas, developed melanoma serious enough to cut a three-inch area of skin from her body. The woman was also a regular at a tanning salon.

Many young people are deceived by tanning beds because they associate skin cancer with burning and not with tans, Lin said.

“Tanning beds are designed to not burn as much,” he said. “They cause deep color changes. They’re designed that way. They cause more damage because it goes deeper.”

The tanning industry maintains the problem lies in overexposure to UV light. Most beds today have a maximum exposure time of 20 minutes, Bodenhamer said. Most people stay in the beds less than that, depending on their skin type. The lighter the skin, the less time they should be exposed. Keeping exposure time to a minimum reduces the risk of burning, which lessens the risk of long-term damage. More than anything, moderation is the key to tanning safely, she said.

“Tanning is like drinking. It’s not going to kill you, but if you overdo it, yes, it will,” she said. “If you overdo it you could become addicted to it or die from it.”

A certain amount of sun exposure is good for your body, both Lin and Levy said. Where Lin and Levy disagree, however, is the amount of time needed in the sun. According to Lin, the sun you receive getting your mail or entering and exiting your car is more than enough.

“It’s the position all dermatologists take, that it’s better to avoid the sun and to have as little exposure as possible,” Lin said. “We recommend extremes because we know you’re going to get some exposure.”

Exposure to UV light can also cause other non-cancer related conditions, Lin said, such as premature aging of the skin. Beyond a certain age, the damage caused to skin will be irreparable, causing a leathery, older appearance, he said. Tanning can also damage your eyes permanently, and requires protective eyewear.

Regardless of tanning beds’ degree of danger, the FDA mandates that all beds carry specific warning labels to inform the consumer of potential risk. In addition, Texas state law states tanning salons must display prominent warning signs throughout their facility, in conjunction with consumers signing a waiver. If a customer is under 18, they need parental permission to tan, Bodenhamer said. The law also limits the number of tanning sessions per person to one session in a 24-hour period.

In spite of repeated warnings, Bodenhamer said customers still come to get their golden glow.

“When you have a poster hanging up in the room warning them, they know the dangers,” she said. “When they have to sign a waiver and see those posters every day in their face, they know. You can tell people who smoke that it’s going to give them lung cancer and people will still do what they want to do.”
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Kate Lohnes covers features and entertainment for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4427.