Are Tanning Beds More Unsafe then the Sun?

There has been an argument for years about the effects of tanning beds. People that are going to tan are going to do it one way or another, but is it safer to tan in the booths instead of the beach?

The FDA and the CDC both strongly discourage the use of tanning beds and lamps. The AMA and the ADD have gone as far as to try to ban the sale of tanning beds for non-medical uses. (FDA) These suggestions from all four of these organizations seem to be without a true fault lying in the beds themselves though. The organizations only sighted that exposure to the sunlight or UVA rays that come from tanning lights can cause cancer and a break down in the immune system.

The UVA rays in the tanning beds are long waves that will penetrate deeper into the skin and are suspected to cause more long term damage then the UVB rays that are emitted from the sun, which are shorter rays, which cause burning because the skin protects itself more. UVA rays will cause a breakdown in the inner connection tissue. (Indoor Tanning)

Those are a couple of the points from the regulators and experts that want to see indoor tanning go, and from what it seems all tanning to stop if people want to end this skin cancer epidemic that grows every year. These comments and desired regulations are of course sent across all wired and communications and the indoor tanning world set up its own little way of coming back at everyone. They have their own organization to research and develop safer ways of tanning, and to deal with negative press.

The ITA, or Indoor Tanning Association, released a statement regarding a recent study released by the FDA. The FDA released information regarding cancer in New Hampshire residents that used indoor tanning facilities, but it seems that the results were not statistically significant. ITA also refuted a claim about the start of the survey, where the survey stated that they began in 1975, but commercial tanning was not even available until 1979.

It seems that neither side of this issue has a solid stance that they can back up with evidence. The FDA and other organizations seem to be warning about the side effects of sun exposure in general, but cannot significantly prove that indoor tanning has a greater effect or not. Even to this point the FDA will not allow the medical world to release stats on sun exposure helping patients with some dieses because the percentages are not high enough to make a claim that bold at this time. It would seem that the Organizations are going to keep going after the ITA until they are able to prove that tanning is as either safe or safer then the sun.

Michael Gamble 2002

Works Cited

“The Darker Side of Tanning” U.S. Food and Drug Administration – Center for Devices and Radiological Health http://www.fda.gov/cdrh/tanning.html, February 4, 1997, March 24, 2002.

“Indoor Tanning” Federal Trade Commission Documents JL Com http://www.lawpublish.com/ftcintan.html, August 1997, March 24, 2002

“ITA Responds to JNCI Skin Cancer Article” Indoor Tanning Association http://www.indoor-tanning.org/page.php?ArticleID=38, February 7, 2002, March 24, 2002