Tanning Bed Research Paper
Catherine Edmonson
Writing as Inquiry
Ms. Allen
February 12, 2014
What are the effects of tanning beds?
Meet Natalie. She started tanning when she was 16 years old because she was convinced it made her feel prettier. During her college years, she would go once every 2 weeks and then began going once a week. She always joked about how she would get skin cancer, but thought it would never happen to her. When she was 21, her doctor noticed a spot on her back, which turned out to be melanoma; she went through many surgeries to remove cancerous skin. Now she is left with multiple scars and compares herself to looking like Frankenstein with all her scars. According to “Research Sheds Light on Indoor Tanning and Cancer Risk.” Journal of the National Cancer, ‘”People …show more content…
Using a tanning bed for 20 minutes a day is the equivalent of spending 1-3 hours out in the sun without the use of sunscreen. Indoor Tanning Restrictions and Regulations states that “Currently California, Illinois, Nevada, Texas and Vermont ban the use of tanning beds for all minors under 18, and at least 33 states and the District of Columbia regulate the use of tanning facilities by minors” I personally have used a tanning bed and am at an extremely high risk of developing skin cancer for the future.
As I began to explore more in depth about this topic, nothing really seemed to sway me away from the tanning beds until I came upon these statistics from the Skin Cancer Foundation stating that “Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.” When UVR was proven a human carcinogen it was a huge step; this had always been an idea but when it was a fact it opened the eyes to many tanning bed users. Tanning industries have many conflicting thoughts about the dangers of tanning. Tanning industries negative opinions are that:
1. 87% believe that a person can be too young to tan
Writing as Inquiry
Ms. Allen
February 12, 2014
What are the effects of tanning beds?
Meet Natalie. She started tanning when she was 16 years old because she was convinced it made her feel prettier. During her college years, she would go once every 2 weeks and then began going once a week. She always joked about how she would get skin cancer, but thought it would never happen to her. When she was 21, her doctor noticed a spot on her back, which turned out to be melanoma; she went through many surgeries to remove cancerous skin. Now she is left with multiple scars and compares herself to looking like Frankenstein with all her scars. According to “Research Sheds Light on Indoor Tanning and Cancer Risk.” Journal of the National Cancer, ‘”People …show more content…
Using a tanning bed for 20 minutes a day is the equivalent of spending 1-3 hours out in the sun without the use of sunscreen. Indoor Tanning Restrictions and Regulations states that “Currently California, Illinois, Nevada, Texas and Vermont ban the use of tanning beds for all minors under 18, and at least 33 states and the District of Columbia regulate the use of tanning facilities by minors” I personally have used a tanning bed and am at an extremely high risk of developing skin cancer for the future.
As I began to explore more in depth about this topic, nothing really seemed to sway me away from the tanning beds until I came upon these statistics from the Skin Cancer Foundation stating that “Each year there are more new cases of skin cancer than the combined incidence of cancers of the breast, prostate, lung and colon.” When UVR was proven a human carcinogen it was a huge step; this had always been an idea but when it was a fact it opened the eyes to many tanning bed users. Tanning industries have many conflicting thoughts about the dangers of tanning. Tanning industries negative opinions are that:
1. 87% believe that a person can be too young to tan