The darker side of tanning
One chilly spring afternoon, Linda Corigan walked into her local tanning salon. The lights were turned down low and mirrors covered the walls everywhere. The heavy scent of tanning oil hung in the air as she checked in.
"How long would like to go in for?" the woman behind the counter asked. "I think that I’ll go in for about 15 minutes today," Corigan said.
She walked down the hall to an empty tanning booth, removed all her clothes, applied her perfumed lotion, put on her protective goggles and lay down in the bed. As the bed’s ultraviolet lights hit her face, Corigan smiled and looked forward to the golden tan she soon would have.
Corigan is far from unique. On an average day in the United States, more than 1 million people invest both their time and money visiting tanning salons, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. Most probably know that prolonged sun exposure can lead to skin cancer, but how many know the potential dangers of tanning booths?
Years ago, suntans not only were considered fashionable -- as they still are with many people, including high school and college students -- but physicians encouraged patients to sunbathe because it was considered healthful.
With new medical research and studies being done, doctors all over the world have proven that suntans are not all that they once thought them to be. "There was an increase in media awareness of the risks involved with lying in the sun to get a tan in the 1980s," Wakefield dermatologist Cathy Petro says.
This was the catalyst for the switch from the proliferation of sun tanning oils to sun blocks and sun protectors, she explains. It was also the catalyst for the growth of the tanning salon industry.
Tanning salons were seen as offering protection because the idea behind them was that sun tanning was dangerous primarily because of burns. "It was thought that if one received a tan through a gradual, controlled process, the dangers would be eliminated," Petro says. She says she treats many patients each week who suffer from over-exposure to the sun or tanning beds.
Dermatologists such as Petro and public health professionals are now concerned with the dangers of ultraviolet radiation from tanning beds and sun lamps in addition to the sun.
The American Academy of Dermatology's web site explains that sunlight and artificial sunlight such as that used in tanning salons emits three types of electromagnetic radiation in the ultraviolet range: UVA, UVB and UVC. All can cause health problems.
A pamphlet in Petro's office explains that long-term exposure to ultraviolet light contributes to the risk of the three kinds of skin cancer: basal, an otherwise benign skin cancer that can cause scarring; squamous cell, which is usually benign but which can spread through the body if left untreated; and melanoma, one of the most fatal kinds of cancer.
Even if tanners are lucky enough not to experience the pain of any of these cancers, there are still many other side affects to consider.
"Premature aging of the skin with wrinkles will occur in everyone who is repeatedly exposed to the sun over a long period of time, although the damage may be less apparent and take longer to show up in people with darker skin," Petro says.
According to the AAD web site, skin aging and cancer are often delayed effects that don’t show up until many years after the exposure. Because the damage is not immediately visible, young people are often unaware of the dangers of tanning. But 80 percent of sun damage occurs before age of 18, according to the AAD.
Even with the knowledge of the dangers, people still flock to tanning salons. "It just makes me feel good to have a tan," says Susan Breene of Narragansett. "I feel healthier and I look better when I’m not so pale."
Tanning salons do not try to hide the fact that there are potential risks involved for those who step into their beds, but they also know that people like Breene will continue to fuel their businesses.
"We open at 8 a.m. and close at 8 p.m. every day except Sundays and we are normally booked through the whole day and usually have at least 10 walk-ins," says Melissa Gould, an employee at Tan Masters in Wakefield.
"We try to promote safe and responsible tanning but there is always a risk and everyone who comes here knows that," she adds.
Each tanning room has signs posted warning of the do's and don't and dangers. For example, the salon provides goggles to protect a customer’s eyes from the ultraviolet lights, but it is up to the tanner to wear them. Regulating how long one spends in the tanning bed can help prevent burning, but the long-term effects are still the same.
New patrons are required to sign a statement defining potential hazards and consequences of exposure to UVA. Minors are not permitted to use a tanning bed without written consent of a parent or guardian. And salons cannot advertise UVA or UVB tanning devices using wording such as "safe," "safe tanning," "no harmful rays" or "no adverse effect."
"I know that there's a good chance that I will end up with lots of wrinkles by the time I'm 40 years old, but it's worth looking and feeling good right now to me," says Jenn Tiereny of Exeter. "Isn’t that why they created Botox?"
Amy Waidler is a junior journalism and communications studies major from South Kingstown. She is scheduled to graduate in May 2005.
