Nearly one in three women ages 18 to 24 are tanning indoors and almost quarter of them are oblivious to its dangers, according to research published in the Archives of Dermatology.

So, don’t delay. Tell the women in your life that staying away from indoor tanning salons can save their skin—and maybe even their lives.

Need proof? Read on for 5 facts about indoor tanning from the Skin Cancer Foundation:

1. Tanning beds emit UV radiation, which causes skin cancer.

2.  People who tan indoors are three times more likely to develop melanoma (the deadliest skin cancer), 2.5 times more likely to develop squamous cell cancer, and 1.5 times more likely to develop basal cell cancer than those who don’t.

3. The International Agency for Research on Cancer includes ultraviolet (UV) tanning devices in its Group 1 list of the most dangerous cancer-causing substances, along plutonium, cigarettes, and solar UV radiation.

4. Frequent tanners using new high-pressure sunlamps may receive as much as 12 times the annual UVA dose compared to the dose they receive from sun exposure.

5. Ten minutes in a tanning bed matches the cancer-causing effects of 10 minutes in the Mediterranean summer sun.

New York state wants to ban minors from indoor tanning salons, and we agree it’s a smart move. What’s your opinion?

Indoor Tanning and Skin Cancer The Saturday Evening Post

World health leaders are issuing the strongest warning yet about indoor tanning and cancer risk, labeling the devices as “carcinogenic to humans” as smoking cigarettes and exposure to arsenic and asbestos.

The new research, published in The Lancet Oncology medical journal, found a higher-than-expected risk of potentially deadly skin cancer in people using sunlamps and tanning beds for cosmetic purposes. Not surprisingly, those who began the practice as teens or 20-somethings were most at danger.

“The risk of skin melanoma is increased by 75 percent when use of tanning devices starts before 30 years of age,” states the report from the International Agency for Research on Cancer, the World Health Organization agency that developed the most widely used system for classifying carcinogens. The group also found a link between tanning bed use and risk of melanoma of the eye.

Indoor tanning is a multibillion-dollar industry in the United States. The FDA is currently reviewing the language and positioning of warning labels on tanning equipment to convey a shorter and more forceful message.

But the American Cancer Society recommends people avoid tanning beds altogether.

“This new report confirms and extends the prior recommendation of the American Cancer Society that the use of tanning beds is dangerous to your health, and should be avoided,” says Len Lichtenfeld, M.D., deputy chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society. “Young women in particular are the heaviest users of tanning beds, and, as noted in the report, are at the greatest risk of causing harm to themselves.”

The findings also put to rest the argument that tanning with UVA light is safe, Lichtenfeld says.
“Previously, the cancer-causing effects of ultraviolet light were thought to be primarily related to UVB, or ultraviolet B radiation. This new report now extends the cancer-causing effects of solar or sun-related radiation to UVA light, as well,” he says.

Conventional tanning beds produce an average 95 percent UVA and 5 percent UVB rays. Newer versions, however, emit higher levels of UVB to speed up the tanning process.

Indoor Tanning: The Warning You Need to Read The Saturday Evening Post