The WHO and Tanning - Stay Positive

[Leif Vasstrom]

While all the media are hyping this "new hype" they forgot that Wine, Beer and Salted Fish (among other things) are included in the "Group 1 of the bad for you things list".

I’ll give you just one other example of hype: Over the past 30 years every single sweetener - including sugar - has been deemed bad and cancer causing. One by one some of them have afterwards been deemed not so bad after all. Even too much milk at one point was pointed out as maybe cancer causing.

And - wine and salted fish – consumed in large quantities by the fishermen around the Mediterranean may have something to do with their long lives.
And - in Scandinavia - fishermen who drink a lot of beer and eat a lot of VERY salted fish, seem to live forever, even though they live tough lives on the icy little islands in the Baltic and lived to be 90-100 already 50-75 years ago.

The new media sucks compared to the Walter Chronkite. I wish Lou Dobbs and all the others would stop editorializing.

ITA President Dan Humiston did a good job today for us on Fox, especially as the Fox reporter acted like a jerk, which made things less easy. Dan was affable, kind of fun and made the point, I think.

So guys, here is my take: No reason to panic, this will blow over once people read a bit more and reflect on the better things in life and the POSITIVE aspects of tanning - in moderation - as we all know the positive far outweigh the negative. Remember, if you tan indoors - 500-700 minutes per year in good equipment, which equals a short vacation in Hawaii - you are tanning moderately. OK?

I think we all know that the skin cancer issue is overblown by certain anti tanning advocates, especially as it relates to the real numbers - not made up and hyped percentages.

So relax, support the ITA, Smart Tan and all the people who are on our side. Read up on the positive aspects of tanning, teach your staff what they should and must know. All this information is available from Smart Tan and the ITA. I suggest you pay the measly $100 a year - or more - per store and get all the new updated information on your computer on a monthly basis.

Positive thinking has a lot to do with success. Moaning and groaning gets you nowhere, that is for sure.

We have been fighting stuff like this since the early 80’s (I personally spend out of my pocket $550,000 - a lot of money now, but much more then - to retroactively re-label beds, lamps etc items) and I am still after all these years positive about the industry. Let’s go !


Best Regards,

Leif Vasström


SUPRA® Brands Group LLC / OY SUPRA® Brands AB
SUPRA® Technologies
LV Direct 415-725-6666
( 800-959-1255
7 415-520-5318
* lvasstrom@supratechnologies.com
www.supratechnologies.com

[sparky]

So True Leif!

[frankie]

Thanks for your input Leif. Your participation on this subject is greatly appreciated.

[labweb]

Thank you so much for the positive message Leif! I was feeling kind of down after I read the article released on the AP especially since we are in the midst of a huge expansion and committing lots of capital to it. The timing just seemed especially bad.

Your message provided a much needed breath of fresh air (perspective).

Let's keep fighting the good fight!
Lisa

[Kathe]

Great post Leif!

[CROVINE1]

You the man Leif!

[solman]

An open reply to Leif:

From my few years of involvement in this industry, and that strictly as a salon owner with a single location, I've seen/heard your name several times. Not once was there anything negative written or said. It's always nice to have someone in the upper echelons of our industry come on here and post. It doesn't happen nearly enough and I respect you for doing it. I'll also state that you've probably forgotten more about the industry then I'll ever know (that, by the way, is a compliment).

So it's with all due respect that I don't give you an "atta-boy" like the others. It's troubling to me to hear that one of the de-facto leaders in our industry takes the position of ignore it and it'll go away. From what I've learned we as an industry have lost ground and credibility almost from the day the first tanning salon opened. I know that for the past 3 years every time I turn-around it seems we're taking another kick to the teeth. And the response is almost always to grin and bear it. I don't have the answer as to how we turn things around but I'm also not stupid enough to think ignoring it will work now anymore than it has in the past. Staying positive while sticking our heads in the sand is a bad strategy. Let's face it, the only thing we know positively is that this will not be the last, or even the best, shot taken by the anti-tanning zealots. Unless and until we figure out a way to level the playing field and change the perception of tanning with the general public (the 90 percent or so that don't patronize our salons) this industry will continue to die a slow death.

For the record my wife and I are Smart Tan Certified, ITA supporting, proud owners of a tanning salon. We operate our salon with the highest standards and "fight the good fight" on a daily basis. We're not in any position to financially fund what needs to happen and I'd bet 90% of salon owners are just like us. This lastest media-hype will cost me several hundred dollars in the near term and thousands over the course of the next few months. I know that's chump-change to you but it can be the difference between make or break for many of us.

We don't need cheerleaders, we need leaders with vision. What we need is for those in the top-tier to really step up and make it happen. We need doctors, lawyers, and indian chiefs to get a game plan that will work in place and then execute it. The greatest lesson from last year's Berman campaign should be that if you can't give it 110%, save your cash. The second greatest lesson is that the strategy sucked despite what we'd like to keep telling ourselves.

Is there no one in this industry willing to raise the bar, part the waters, and lead us to the promised land?

[Leif Vasstrom]

Dear Friends,

With the permission of Doug McNabb, President and CEO of the large Canadian tannins salon chain Fabutan, I am posting links that I feel can be very helpful for you, your staff as well as for customer interaction.

It is all about a positive message and proper education.

http://www.everydayshorts.com/media/...erview-BNN.wmv

http://www.everydayshorts.com/media/...iew-JACKFM.mp3

I suggest taking a few minutes, and really reflect on the message from Doug, think about it and then use the information in your salon.

Best Regards,

Leif Vasström
SUPRA®Brands Group LLC / OY SUPRA®Brands AB
SUPRA®Technologies
LV Direct 415-725-6666
( 800-959-1255
7 415-520-5318
* lvasstrom@supratechnologies.com
www.supratechnologies.com

[Leif Vasstrom]

Dear Solman,

Thanks for your post and input.

Let me first say that you may be the first person - maybe only - in many years that sort of states that I do not aggressively step up to the plate. Usually I am told to hold back and not be so...pushy...

Having said that, allow me to reiterate that our postive message combined with knowledge and education both towards staff and the consumer is really at this particular moment the first step and a key matter.

I appreciate your candor, and your willingness to adress the matter head on, but at this moment we ( I think I can say this collectively ) should think about the best way to approach this matter, not react. Think of it as the "mad as hell letter" you should let sit over the weekend until you have calmed down. Then re- read it - and wow, did I really write that?

I can assure you that some manufacturers, as well as the Doug McNabbs, Don Hirsches, Robbie Seglers of the world - and others - are not going to sit on the fence and do nothing.
However, as we all know, haste makes waste.

And again, it would be nice if more salons owners would stand up like you did.

[solman]

Leif...I never meant to imply you personally don't step up to the plate. I have no idea if you do or don't. I sure hope you do and would bet so.

I understand your position that collectively we should not knee-jerk, or to put it another way "fire back with guns blazing". What I am saying, or I guess more accurately asking, is whether anyone is working on the ammo? It's like we always show-up at the O.K. Coral with our water pistols. The bad guys start shooting and all we can do is duck and run. I'd love to see us, collectively, start firing back. We need to be more pro-active and have a plan in place so the next time, and we all know there will be a next time, we aren't scrambling around looking for bullets.

Thanks again for your willingness to post. I enjoyed Doug's interviews. It's a damn shame we in the States didn't match him.

[Leif Vasstrom]

Solman, I agree with you, however it takes a collective effort.

In the past two years many manufacturers - not enough though - and many salon chains - not enough though - and many smaller single store owners - by far not enough !!! - have stepped up to the plate both financially and otherwise in an effort to at least try to do something.

More people like yourself should be encouraged to work on grass roots levels (yes - local competing salons should team up for the common cause) as well as volunteer to help both the ITA and the Smart Tan Network.

Working for our common cause is often siderailed by salon owners who bicker either about each other or the 2 organizations that at least TRY to do something.

Matt Russell at the Smart Tan Network is certainly not making huge profits from all the money and efforts he puts forward through his and his staff's work, but he should at least be applauded for sticking his head out financially and otherwise and in trying to make things happen.

Organizations such as Devoted Creations, James Oliver of the Beach Bum chain in NY, Robbie Segler of Darque Tan in Houston -to name a few - are investing both time and money - in pushing the positive aspects of UV -Light forward.

Many posters here have good intentions, but good intentions alone do not make things happen. We have do pick ourselves up and actually ACT, and we need for all of you - not just the posters but also the eyes viewing the websites - to act and do something instead of sitting on the side lines waiting for others to make it happen.

I truly hope that current media news will get more people involved.
After all, it is our business, our livelyhood and our future depends on it.

[Leif Vasstrom]

Read this and think about how you can best work this to your advantage on a grass roots level.

August 3, 2009

TO: ITA Membership
FROM: John Overstreet

In the wake of the media attacks last week, our biggest concern now is the potential impact all of this coverage will have on Federal and state legislative and regulatory issues.
In the states, we have an excellent team of lobbyists representing the industry and they are on alert for any additional problems this report could create. We have provided each with briefing materials to refute the arguments contained in the media reports and are hopeful the IARC report will not prompt any further attacks on the industry this year or next. However, because the reports were so widespread, there is no doubt our detractors will make sure the reports reach the desks of the legislators. This is particularly troubling in Ohio, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and New York where bills are still pending and eligible for further legislative action this year.
On the Federal level, I also want you to be aware of two other developments related to the IARC Crisis last week. The week before last, Akin Gump was alerted to the attached letter sent to FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg by the Chairwoman of the House Appropriations subcommittee on Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration and Related Agencies, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut. In the letter, Chairwoman DeLauro asks the commissioner specific questions regarding the FDA’s plans for revising the warning label; plans for reviewing and amending the performance standard and if they intend to review of classicization of tanning devices. In a subsequent press release last week (see below), DeLauro compares our industry to cigarettes and calls on the FDA to re-examine the classification of tanning devices.
Because Congresswoman DeLauro chairs the subcommittee responsible for funding the FDA, these developments are all the more troubling. In addition, there is an enormous health care reform bill working its way through Congress also presenting our enemies with an easy legislative vehicle with which to attempt to harm the industry.
All of this confirms how media attacks create legislative opportunities for our enemies.
I will keep you posted on all developments.

Congresswoman DeLauro's Press Release

July 29, 2009


DeLauro Statement on Sunbeds Posing Similar Cancer Risk as Cigarettes

Washington , D.C. – Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) issued the following statement on a report in the journal Lancet Oncology by a special committee of the World Health Organization for Research on Cancer, which concluded that all types of ultraviolet light – whether UV-A or UV-B – used in tanning beds is as carcinogenic as asbestos, radium, arsenic and cigarettes. The committee of 20 scientists from nine countries, which reviewed more than 20 studies in humans and animals, found that the risk of melanoma – the most deadly form of skin cancer – increases 75% when people start using tanning beds before age 30.
DeLauro recently wrote to the Commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, Margaret Hamburg, M.D., (please click here to view the letter) over questions and concerns stemming from a 2008 FDA report to Congress, “Labeling Information on the Relationship Between the Use of Indoor Tanning Devices and Development of Skin Cancer or Other Skin Damage,” and looking at opportunities to work with the agency to protect consumers from harmful indoor tanning products.
“It is now acknowledged by the scientific community that whether you are lighting up a cigarette or sliding into a tanning bed, both are equally as dangerous to people’s health.
“Given these new findings that tanning beds are a definite cause of cancer, it is imperative that FDA immediately examine the agency’s current classification of sunlamp products as a Class I medical device.
“Class I devices have a minimal potential for harm such as bandages and tongue depressors. By moving tanning beds into the top cancer risk category, the research by the International Agency for Research on Cancer clearly demonstrates that tanning beds can cause significant harm. It is time that FDA re-examine its classification of tanning beds to ensure that the agency translates this hard science into life-saving action.”
According to the World Health Organization, as many as 60,000 people a year worldwide die from too much sun, mostly from malignant skin cancer. Of these deaths, 48,000 are from melanoma and 12,000 are from other skin cancers. Approximately, 90 percent of these cancers are caused by ultraviolet light from the sun.

DeLauro.House.Gov

[Leif Vasstrom]

<LI class="dateStamp first">August 3, 2009, 10:20 AM ETStudy: Kids Aren’t Getting Enough Vitamin D

By Jacob Goldstein

The vitamin D drumbeat continues today, with a pair of studies that suggest millions of kids aren’t getting enough vitamin D, and that low levels are associated with health risks in adolescents.
Nine percent of children and young adults between the ages of 1 and 21 are deficient in vitamin D, and another 61% have “insufficient” levels (higher than deficient, but lower than what’s desirable), according to a study published online today by the journal Pediatrics. The study was based on data from more than 6,000 kids tested as part of a federally funded health survey conducted between 2001 and 2004.
A second study found that low levels of vitamin D in adolescents are associated with high blood pressure and elevated blood sugar. That study, also published in Pediatrics, looked at data from more than 3,500 adolescents collected as part of the same federal survey.
The body turns sunlight into vitamin D; not surprisingly, the researchers found that kids who spent more than four hours a day watching television, playing video games and using computers were more likely to have low levels of vitamin D. Milk is often fortified with vitamin D, and drinking milk less than once a week was also associated with lower levels of the vitamin.
“This appears to be another result of our unhealthy lifestyles, including a sedentary society that doesn’t go out in the sun much,” one of the authors of the study told the Washington Post.
Researchers have been paying more attention to vitamin D lately, noting associations between low levels of the vitamin and risks of various health problems. Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics doubled its recommended daily dose for kids.
And, as we noted last year, some docs are even suggesting going out in the sun for a few minutes without sunscreen now and again, to allow the body to make more vitamin D. An article in the New England Journal of Medicine called this “sensible sun exposure” — enough to get some vitamin D, but no so much that you get a sunburn or raise your risk of skin cancer. How much this is will depend on several factors, including latitude and season.

[esun]

Looking into the future....

What will we do when these new headlines start?


Like..."Drinking bottled water is as dangerous as mustard gas and tanning beds!"


??? what else will be as bad as Tanning beds?!

Red wine as bad a tanning beds?!

Eating gold fish as dangerous as tanning beds?!

Nuclear reactors as dangerous as tanning beds.?!

I think similar will get run alot for almost any topic.
What will we do about it ?
Will we wait until it happens or ??? to make sure it doesn't?

[Leif Vasstrom]

This is a great link to Fox News on more information on issue of the need for more Vitamin D.

Lack of Vitamin D in Children 'Shocking' - Children's Health - FOXNews.com

[uv2021]

What the hell is the press so shocked about? This situation was totaly predictable.And it was fueled by the press doing just what big pharma wanted them to do,lie to the public about sun exposure,promote sunscreens,stay in the shade.But don't worry ,you get enough vit d for your children with a little teeny glass of milk. Well I do hope they sleep well knowing that failing to verify what the pharm company's were preaching to them,has resulted in what will prove to be a lifetime of disease and suffering for these children.This entire generation is has been denied the quality of life that they were entitled to.

[Leif Vasstrom]

I find it interesting that one Fox News guy blasts sunshine/tanning and Dan Humiston's attempt to set the record straight, while a few days later the network comes out with the story seen through the link I posted.

This at minimum, shows that news can also be positive and newsworthy, and we should embrace that.

Unfortunately for us, like in with movies, death and destruction seem to take the front seat, and godness and love stories take the back seat. C'est la vie.

We have no choice but to keep banging on the positive drum and get the positive aspects and facts out in the open - and the facts from just the last few years are far better than what we had, thanks to many people both in our own industry and from the medical community.

We have been given tools to promote the positive aspects, however as I travel around the country I see a 'schockingly' few salons that actually use what is available.

Time for the grass roots to grow to bushes and trees so they can be seen.

[stan@sunsys]

Maybe an ad (or public service) campaign along the lines of, "Derms are as deadly to our kids as arsenic and mustard gas".

Or, "Sunscreen and video games are more dangerous than arsenic...".

Or maybe, "Save the whales, get your vitamin D from sunlight".

[solarmeter®]

Or:

Derms are corrupted by AAD and sunscreen mfgrs' kickbacks + boondoggles. Follow the money.

Most real MD's know the truth - UV light benefits far outweigh the risks. Follow the truth.

[sparky]