New Report Confirms: Indoor Tanning Causes Cancer
The risk of cutaneous melanoma is increased by 75% when use of tanning devices starts before 30 years of age [emphasis added].
For months, we have been warning parents and teens about the risks of indoor tanning and the shameless conduct of the Indoor Tanning Association. Contrary to mounting evidence, the Association has consistently turned the truth on its head making unabashed claims that indoor tanning is not only safe but has health benefits.
If evidence already available to the public was not enough, the online release today of The Lancet Oncology should end any debate.
INDOOR TANNING CAUSES CANCER
The report stems from a conference of 20 leading scientists from nine different countries, who met at the International Agency for Research on Cancer. The report, based on recent research, raises the classification of UV-emitting tanning devices into Group 1 – “carcinogenic to humans” – the most severe level of risk. This should come as no surprise. The report cites a 75% increase in melanoma risk for those who use tanning beds before the age of 30. The scientists also reference the correlation between use of tanning beds and ocular melanoma, or melanoma of the eye.
It is time to put an end to the lies of the Indoor Tanning Association and the conduct of an industry that blithely ignores the health and safety of teens, particularly young women. If the state and federal government attorneys are too busy, or do not have the resources, private attorneys must once again fill the breach. Litigation can:
- Seek an end to indoor tanning for teens;
- Force better disclosure of risk for all, particularly those under 30;
- Pursue damages for those directly harmed; and
- Open up salons and their supporters to the public glare of scrutiny.
All of these outcomes are necessary in order to protect the American public from the money-over-morals attitude of the Association and the tanning industry.
(Post was prepared with the assistance of David Martin, University of North Carolina 2010)
