There are a variety of educational programs aimed to shape youth behavior around drugs and alcohol. DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) is an international education program that teaches students about the risks associated with drug abuse, including tobacco and alcohol products. In 1994, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a widely used report, “Guidelines for School Health Programs to Prevent Tobacco Use and Addiction.” We do not see similar programs that target indoor tanning. Young kids do not grow up to inherently understanding that indoor tanning is dangerous. They do not receive foundational education about the risks and consequences. Instead, they are left to navigate the benefits and costs among voices that come from pop culture, the indoor tanning industry, and their peers. In addition, one of the greatest problems facing successful public education and awareness of the risks of indoor tanning is the messaging in publications that come from the tanning industry. The ITA denies the claim that there is a proven link between indoor tanning devices and melanoma rates. Moreover, it insists that indoor tanning can actually be healthy, because: 1) UV rays emit Vitamin D, which is good for you; and 2) indoor tanning devices allow exposure to UV rays to be regulated in a safe and controlled environment.
When these conflicting messages pervade public discourse on indoor tanning, the message is muddled. Those individuals who are not well informed on the issues may believe the messages coming from sources like the ITA. At the very least, they may justify their own decisions to indoor tan partially based on the potential that the ITA is the right side. Somehow, the American public needs to be educated that there are no “sides” in this debate. There is one hard-line version of the truth: indoor tanning causes cancer.
Assisted by Jessica Began