If someone said a certain very fashionable pairof jeans caused cancer and increased agingand that over 28 million Americans knew of these dangers and were still wearing these jeans on a regular basis, what would you think?
Fortunately, no medical research has ever linked any pair of jeans to these harmful health side effects. But, another popular fashion trend has been linked to all these side effects: indoor tanning beds.
According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, indoor tanning is a $2 billion-a-year business.
Anna Wooley, a second-year College student who works at Absolute Tan on the Corner, said her place of employment sees between 100 and 200 costumers on an average "peak season" day, from before spring break until the end of school, and "hundreds" before Spring Break. Of those, about 75 percent are University students.
Coco Channel, the 1920s fashion icon, may be credited with starting this trend as she inadvertently earned herself a tan while sailing and forever set the standard for well-bronzed skin. In the 1920s the tan meant wealth -- those who had money could travel to sunnier places. Today, a healthy tan shares similar positive associations. A Seventeen magazine study found that their readers felt they "look better with a tan and [felt] healthier, more sophisticated."
But dermatologist Dr. Alan Moshell does not agree.
"There is no upside to tanning," he said citing the medical concerns associated with tanning.
Second-year College student Claire Alexander said she is worried about the problems caused by tanning.
"I do worry about the health risks, such as cancer and wrinkles -- the long-term stuff," Alexander said.
She said her concern about the risks is prompting her to stop at the end of this semester.
However, second-year Engineering student Jerry Kahn, who has only been tanning twice, said he doesn't worry about the health risks because "it's just the same as sitting in the sun."
Dermatologist John Shrum agreed with Kahn.
"The dangers of indoor tanning are pretty much the same as with outdoor tanning," he said.
A survey done by Medical News Today, a health Web site, discovered that while 95 percent of indoor tanners understand the "limited health risks" associated with tanning, they continue to do it because it relieves them from stress and boosts their spirits.
Many University students, however, feel that indoor tanning is unhealthy -- even more so than tanning in natural sunlight.
Second-year College student Janet Partlow said she doesn't go tanning because she feels "tanning booths streamline all the dangerous rays."
She said she is also worried about the long-term side effects.
"I know that too much tanning now will cause me skin problems later," she said. "And also the only thing you're doing in a tanning booth really is just getting rays that are bad for you, so really I see no point in paying someone to essentially give me future skin problems."
Tanning is caused by the UVA and UVB rays, which are present in natural sunlight that results in the pigment melanin being released in skin cells. This release of pigment is the body's defense against absorbing further ultraviolet rays, Shrum said.
However, both UVA and UVB rays cause a multitude of problems that can be realized with even a small amount of direct sun exposure. UVB rays can damage the DNA of skin cells and lead to moles and skin cancer, Shrum said. UVA rays, while thought not to be as dangerous as UVB rays, are responsible for skin aging such as wrinkles and sun spots, he added.
Many people know about tanning beds and their associations with cancer and skin aging, but what they may not know are the dangers unique to indoor tanning.
Most tanning beds are designed so that customers lie stark naked and sweating in the exact spot where a complete stranger was lying naked and sweating just hours before. If the beds are not properly cleaned, infection and other disease can easily be spread.
However, many tanning salons do make a strong effort to provide sanitary equipment. Wooley explained that between each customer they thoroughly wipe down each bed with special tanning bed cleaner and provide new towels.
Serious eye damage,such as keratitis, which Moshell described as "sun burning the eyeball," also can result from exposure to ultraviolet light. Federal regulation requires that costumers wear eye protection while tanning, but Wooley said there is no way to know if people actually use them.
"We can only make sure they go into the room with the goggles," she said.
Wooley said she had to make a trip to the doctor when her eyes become red and itchy after tanning a few times without eye protection because she didn't want tan lines around her eyes.
Wooley said she sees some of the same costumers regularly. Some people actually can become addicted to tanning and its effects and develop so-called "tanorexia."
Alexander said after she tans, it "feel[s] good -- it's a psychological thing. I feel healthy, which is weird."
The good feelings occur because tanning release endorphins -- hormones that are also released during exercise and sex, that make you feel happier, according to WebMD. People become hooked on the hormones and keep going tanning to experience them.
Khan said he worries about becoming addicted but only "for monetary reasons."
Wooley said she tries not to go too often but doesn't worry too much because "it's just as bad as other things I do to my body" and she likes how she looks with a tan.
However, not everyone agrees about the dangers posed by indoor tanning. Proponents of indoor tanning feel that it is actually safer than tanning outdoors because it is so regulated, Wooley said.
According to Wooley, before Absolute Tan will allow a first-time costumer to tan they must complete an application, and if the person is too pale they will not be allowed to use the facilities. In addition, according to federal regulations, people may not tan for longer than 15 minutes.
Several studies have actually concluded that tanning might be good for you.
According to WebMD, a lack of UV rays can lead to vitamin D deficiency. Vitamin D helps make strong bones, improve blood flow and help aid some skin conditions such as psoriasis.
Moshell disagreed, however.
"Vitamin D is generated in the skin by the same wavelengths of ultraviolet that cause sunburn," he said. "If you don't get the wavelengths that cause burn, you don't get vitamin D."
According to Moshell, it is better to take vitamin D supplements than to use tanning to obtain the vitamin.
Shrum, however, is less concerned about the dangers posed by infrequent visits to the tanning bed, although she thinks many seek to tan on a more regular basis.
"Anything in moderation is fine, but most people who do go tanning are trying to get deeper tans," he said. "If it's done in moderation then it's not a problem but I think ... the group that chooses it aren't doing it in moderation."
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