No such thing as a safe tan

Skin & Allergy News, Nov, 2008 by Alicia Ault

Three papers published in the October issue of Pigment Cell and Melanoma Research contend that there's no evidence supporting the safety of tanning-especially indoor tanning--and they call on the tanning bed industry to cease promoting its services. Dr. David Fisher, president of the Society of Melanoma Research, and colleagues from Massachusetts General Hospital's dermatology department write that while genetic and other factors play a role in skin cancer risk, "the role of UV is incontrovertible, and efforts to confuse the public, particularly for purposes of economic gain by the indoor tanning industry, should be vigorously combated for the public health." Dr.

Marianne Berwick of the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, writes, "Epidemiologic data--incomplete and unsatisfactory--suggests that tanning beds are not safer than solar ultraviolet radiation and that they may have independent effects from solar exposure that increase risk for melanoma." Finally, Dr. Dorothy Bennett of the University of London argues that recreational exposure to ultraviolet light should be discouraged because UV is a known mutagen.