This week we learned that VP candidate Sarah Palin had installed a tanning booth in the Governor's Mansion in Alaska. When the news broke, the first to react were the Tanning Booth Association advocates. Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said: “People need to remember that indoor tanning was invented in Europe in light-deprived Northern European countries as a therapeutic exercise. It should not be a surprise to anyone that an Alaskan turns to indoor tanning.” Not shying away from the obvious juxtaposition with presidential candidate John McCain's challenge with melanoma, Levy continues: “McCain’s condition — attributed to years of sunburn on his type I skin as a prisoner of war in Vietnam — and Palin’s tanning bed should allow the tanning community the opportunity to tell our story correctly,” Levy said.
 
What are the real facts when it comes to tanning beds and health?

The truth is that we live in a culture that still places a high premium on youth, good looks and glamour. And nothing says “glamorous” more than a deep tan, or so it seems. That’s why you may have noticed a surge in tanning booths in your local community.

Tanning is big business. And young people, in particular, are plunking their money down and climbing into the booths – even though many of them realize there is a health danger associated with tanning.

Consider just how fast the tanning salon business is growing. In the United States, there are 25,000 plus tanning outlets, with 160,000 employees serving some 30 million customers. At $20 to $50 dollars per session, with beauty add-ons, that represents more than $2 billion in spending per year. All of this growth comes at a time when skin cancer rates have also soared.

The American Medical Association, the American Cancer Society, the World Health Organization and a host of others say exposure to ultraviolet rays from the sun or from tanning booths is the primary culprit for today’s skin cancer rates. Studies reveal that the rays, including ultraviolet A, which damages not only the surface epidermis but the connective tissues and vessels below, and ultraviolet B, which is prone to quick surface burns, may cause cancer.

The link between ultraviolet rays and cancer doesn’t seem to concern the tanning booth industry’s lobbying group, The Indoor Tanning Association. They embrace it and run with it, saying the experience is “more than just a good tan; [customers] also enjoy the positive psychological and physiological effects of regular exposure to ultraviolet light.”  They claim that moderate tanning has never been linked to skin cancer and that tanning booths are effective for activating vitamin D and building strong bones. But the reality is that we get plenty of vitamin D from normal sources. The World Health Organization says that 5 to 15 minutes of casual sun exposure of the hands, face and arms, 2 to 3 times a week during summer months, is sufficient to keep vitamin D levels high.
 
So here we are, in the 21st century, unwilling or unable to regulate an industry whose profits come only with rising disease burdens and health costs for the nation.

The AMA has called for three simple and reasonable steps to bring about change. Number one, tanning booths should be off-limits to those 18 or younger. Number two, the FDA should conduct hearings to weigh-in on risk and the need for increased regulation. And number three, booths should come with a Surgeon General’s warning.

Responsible legislators have advanced bills, and Congress should approve these. As sponsor Carolyn B. Maloney, a Democratic congresswoman from New York says, “New cigarette packs say smoking causes cancer. We don’t want to wait another 50 years to have labels that adequately warn people that tanning beds cause cancer.”

I agree, and hope all four candidates for president and vice-president will reject tanning booths as a “healthy option.”  As always – to learn more, watch a special video embedded with this blog post (this week it’s from our Health Politics archive) or read the full transcript to learn more. Then send a comment expressing your feelings about tanning booths. Do you think they are safe?