TANNING FACTS

Is indoor tanning safe?
We use the term "smart." Here's why. "Safe" means you can do something recklessly without hurting yourself. And that's not what we're teaching. We're teaching the "Golden Rule of Smart Tanning"; sunburn prevention. Our belief is this: Moderate indoor tanning—for individuals who can develop a tan—is the smartest way to maximize the potential benefits and minimize the potential risks associated with either too much or too little sunlight.

Isn't it true that any sun exposure can cause skin cancer?
Ultraviolet light—sun exposure—has been linked to skin cancer, but no one knows exactly how. It appears most likely that sunburn particularly among fair-skinned people is the biggest risk factor. So saying UV light causes skin cancer and therefore should be avoided like saying water causes drowning and therefore should be avoided. You need water in order to live, and you need ultraviolet light in order to live.

Heredity, diet and repeated sunburn are the biggest risk factors for non-melanoma skin cancer. Consider that one 1995 study that followed a low-fat diet had 90 percent fewer skin cancers. So it's clear that sun exposure isn't the only factor at work in the development of skin cancer.

What about melanoma skin cancer? Some doctors say it is caused by tanning.
This rare form of skin cancer is a mystery. Know this: 17 of the 21 studies ever conducted on this topic have shown no association between indoor tanning and melanoma. And it occurs most often in indoor workers than it does on outdoor workers—a fact that would be impossible if the relationship were straight-forward. Melanoma is most common in fair-skinned people with a family history of melanoma.

Are skin cancer rates rising because more people tan today than in the past?
Actually, skin cancer rates rose steadily during the 1900's, and society today spends less time outdoors now than ever before. Our sun exposure patterns are more and more intermittent, which makes sunburn more likely if one is not smart about their suncare habits. Remembers, most people worked outdoors until the industrial revolution in the late 1800's It could be theorized that the fact that people don't receive as much regular sun exposure as they used to—which makes them more susceptible to sunburn when they do go outside—may be linked to the increase in skin cancer now.

Is indoors tanning riskier than outdoor tanning?
That's absolutely false. Indoor tanning clients are exposed to a scientifically controlled dosage of ultraviolet light carefully formulated to tan the skin while minimizing the risk of sunburn. That kind of control is virtually impossible outdoors, where variables such as seasonality, time o day, geography, weather conditions, altitude and ozone levels make sunburn much more likely. Because sunburn is the main risk factor for skin damage, it's actually smarter to tan indoors in a professional salon that practices smart tanning.

Every once in a while, a story goes around about a woman who fried her internal organs from too much tanning. How do you explain that?
We call that "The Legend of the Roasted Tanner," and the story is just that—an urban legend. It can't happen. Ultraviolet light, whether from the outdoor sun or an indoor tanning unit, does not penetrate past the skin. You can't even fry an egg in a tanning bed, let alone your internal organs.

I hear that tanning isn't as popular as it used to be. Is this true?
Actually, that's not true. More than 28 million Americans tan indoors and that number increases steadily year after year. More and more people are tanning for the control, convenience, speed and pure enjoyment of tanning in a salon.

Isn't it true that tanning is just like a cigarette for the skin?
No, and it's a ridiculous comparison. Smoking subjects your lungs to unnatural toxins that your body is not designed to process. Tanning, on the other hand, is the body's natural reaction to sunlight. The body is designed to tan, to help prevent it form sun-burning. The body is not designed to process cigarette smoke. Furthermore, a smoker's risk of contracting lung cancer is hundreds of times higher than a non-smoker's. That's not the case with those who tan. Most importantly, there are no known benefits with cigarette smoking. But research suggests that there may be many benefits derived from regular, controlled exposure to ultraviolet light.

Can't people catch diseases like AIDS and herpes from tanning beds? After all, they're both carried in body fluids and people sweat all over tanning beds.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control says the odds of contracting any virus from a properly sanitized tanning bed are "extremely remote." Professional tanning salons sanitize tanning equipment before every tanning session. What's more, the HIV virus dies when exposed to oxygen; it would not survive on a properly sanitized tanning bed.

If all this it true, why do we still hear that any sign of a tan is skin damage?
Money. More money is made scaring people out of the sun than will ever be made encouraging people to tan responsibly. $30 billion in anti-sun products. and the "anti-tanning lobby" had monopolized the rhetoric on this issue, distorting the truth and exceeding the data in an effort to scare people out of the sun. What they're missing is the fact that there are benefits associated with UV light exposure and that consumers know these benefits exist, even if the salons cannot advertise them.

Sunshine is free. If sunshine were something that were sold to consumers, you can bet there would be massive advertising campaigns pushing sunshine as the elixir of life, and research into the positive effects of UV light would receive massive funding instead of the spotty priority it is given today.

The above information © 2003 by the International Smart Tan Network.

More information can be found at:
SmartTan.com and TanningTruth.com.