Tanning beds raise cancer risks: report
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Updated: August 06, 2009 3:47 PM
A Maple Ridge tanning salon owner says the public has not been given enough information when it comes to a new report that tanning beds cause skin cancer.
Based on research done by the International Agency for Cancer Research, which reported tanning beds and ultra violet radiation are “definite” causes of skin cancer, the World Health Organization raised the risk level of tanning beds on Wednesday.
The report concludes that regular use of tanning beds before the age of 30 increases a person’s chance of getting skin cancer by 75 per cent.
Sally Smith, owner of Sun Seekers tanning salon, said that the research by IARC fails to take into consideration the important difference between skin types.
“We do educate our staff and we educate our clients and that’s all we can do,” she said. “With Type 1 [clients], we do not tan them. Period.”
Skin Type 1 refers to people with fair hair and freckles who are easily burnt by the sun and never tan.
Smith said while those people should never use a tanning bed because they will only burn, salon employees are trained to follow procedures to ensure that any other clients get a safe tan.
If those with skin Type 1 are removed from the study, Smith said the result would be very different.
“People should always question information and research provided and draw their own conclusions,” said Perry Holman, business development manager of Uvalux Tanning, a national tanning bed supplier in Woodstock, Ont.
Holman said he doesn’t know whether the IARC’s report will affect his business, which distributes tanning beds to salons in Maple Ridge, but suggests people do their own research before they decide to stop indoor tanning.
In support of the WHO’s decision, however, Vancouver dermatologist Jason Rivers said she agrees that tanning beds are dangerous for everybody, regardless of their skin type.
“They are correct that people who are Type 1 and Type 2 skin are more likely to have problems related to ultra violet radiation compared to someone who is, say, African-American. But the bottom line is the people who use tanning beds are those very people. You don’t have somebody who is black going on tanning beds. It’s a spurious argument. People who are using these devices are those who tend to burn easily, who don’t tend to tan that easily.”
The Canadian Cancer Society also agreed the public should be informed of the risks outlined in the IACR report.
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