Just In – Tanning Beds Are More Harmful Than Originally Thought
New research published online in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology says that the main type of ultraviolet light used in tanning beds (UVA1) can penetrate to a deeper layer of skin that is more vulnerable to the cellular changes caused by the carcinogens that are in UV rays. This recent study arrives as the US Food and Drug Administration and The American Academy of Pediatrics is considering banning the use of sunbeds for children under 18. Dr. Doris Day says that indoor tanning is the equivalent of the skin smoking. She also says it is the worst thing anyone can do to their skin as it not only causes premature aging, but the worst kind of skin cancer. In the study, 12 volunteers were exposed to UVB and UVA 1 on the butt cheeks. The UVA1 was more detrimental to the basal layer of the skin to UVB radiation. The UVA1 induced a type of injury is called thymine dimers in the basal layer of the skin whereas the UVB caused these lesions as well, but they do not go as deep and are less likely to cause changes in certain skin cancers.
Many of the indoor tanning salons tend to claim that their tanning beds helps to increase the body's production of vitamin D, which is known as the sunshine vitamin because the skin creates it with the sun's rays. Dr. Day says this is a load of garbage and people need to know that UVA and UVB are toxic. This is evidence because everyone knows that one can easily "sun" burn in a tanning bed. Dr. Day is particularly concerned about our adolescents that are tanning in salons. She believes they are more vulnerable because teens believe that are immortal and in their minds, skin cancer and aging is for old people. Melanoma is a potentially fatal form of skin cancer and it is not an exclusive disease of an elderly person.
Some people are arguing that this new study on the ultraviolet rays in tanning beds poses no more of a threat than sunning on the beach. John Overstreet, the executive director of the Indoor Tanning Association, says that tanning beds have the same ratio of UV waves as the sun. He says that UVA-1 is the primary wavelength emitted by the sun and the sun and tanning in salon have the same risks and benefits as long as you do not burn the skin. Mr. Overstreet also says that there is no science that shows burning in the sunshine or under a sunlamp causes cancer. Mr. Overstreet does does not think there should be legislation on the use of sunbeds to children under 18 years.
Now the FDA requires sunscreen on the market to have a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15, and labeled as a broad spectrum to protect against both, UVA and UVB waves
