Smoking is to your lungs like tanning beds are to your skin

Posted in Dermatology on November 17, 2009

The dermatology department at Northwest Face is campaigning to prohibit tanning parlors from providing services to minors under 18. There is increasing literature documenting the adverse health effects of indoor tanning, indicating that tanning beds increase one's risk of developing melanoma by 75 percent, if used by children and young adults before the age of 35. In a recent report, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer reclassified UV radiation from tanning beds as "carcinogenic to humans," in the same category as tobacco smoking.

Many U.S. states have already regulated this multi-billion dollar industry, banning minors from using tanning beds or requiring in-person consent from their parents to tan. Currently, in Washington State there are no regulations or oversight of tanning facilities. We see more and more young people (particularly young women) with invasive melanomas and know that the problem is only going to get worse. We know that the majority of high school girls are using these facilities and dread what awaits them in the years to come. As skin care professionals we feel it is our duty to support regulation of this industry and to protect our patients and the health of the public. Please do your part in educating our young people about the dangers of indoor tanning.