Tanning Beds = Arsenic & Mustard Gas?

Posted July 29th, 2009 by jliu

Tanning beds are as deadly as arsenic, cancer study says
Maria Cheng
07/29/2009
The Boston Globe

Commentary: You know, generally I don't take anything out of the Boston Globe with any regard being that it's a majority holder in the Red Sox, but this article caught my eye as interesting and relevant to our generation and it's obsession with remaining tan throughout the year. Having to be tan during winter months, and building up a base tan prior to the spring and summer months using tanning beds as a quick hitting solution has always been assumed to be unhealthy. But to what degree? Hit the jump for the full article.

LONDON - International cancer experts have moved tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation into the top cancer risk category, deeming both to be as deadly as arsenic and mustard gas.

For years, scientists have described tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation as "probable carcinogens."

A new analysis of about 20 studies concludes the risk of skin cancer jumps by 75 percent when people start using tanning beds before age 30. Experts also found that all types of ultraviolet radiation caused worrying mutations in mice, proof the radiation is carcinogenic. Previously, only one type of ultraviolet radiation was thought to be lethal.

The new classification means tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation are definite causes of cancer, alongside tobacco, the hepatitis B virus, and chimney sweeping, among others.

The research was published today online in the medical journal Lancet Oncology, by experts at the International Agency for Research on Cancer in Lyon, France, the cancer arm of the World Health Organization.

"People need to be reminded of the risks of sunbeds," said Vincent Cogliano, one of the cancer researchers. "We hope the prevailing culture will change so teens don't think they need to use sunbeds to get a tan."

Most lights used in tanning beds give off mainly ultraviolet radiation, which cause skin and eye cancer, according to the International Agency for Cancer Research.

Previous studies found younger people who regularly use tanning beds are eight times more likely to get melanoma than people who have never used them.

As someone who has never even set foot within a tanning salon and has never been knowingly within 100 feet of a tanning bed, I find this all rather hilarious.

But hey, looking good is worth the risk, right? I mean, it's not quite as glamourous to contract HepB, down some rat poison or inhale some deadly mustard gas.

Anyone want to go tanning?