Given the choice to drink arsenic, be sprayed with mustard gas or get a tan in a tanning bed, the tanning bed seems like the safest choice. According to a recent study, published in the medical journal "Lancet Oncology," it doesn't matter which one you choose because they can all take you to the same place: the cancer ward.

History

Tanning beds came into existence as a result of medical research. In 1906, the first UV tanning light, or sunlamp, was invented to help patients with rickets to create more vitamin D in their bodies. In the 1970s, tanning beds were invented, and soon thereafter studies into their safety began.

Original Studies

Before 2009, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization, classified tanning beds as "probably carcinogenic."

Recent Studies

In 2009, after considering the results of 20 different studies, IARC reclassified tanning beds, placing them in their highest cancer risk category, thereby equating the risk of cancer from a tanning bed equal to that of tobacco, arsenic and plutonium. The studies showed that people who used tanning beds before age 30 are 75 percent more likely to develop melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer.

Warnings

Although tanning bed manufacturers are denying the dangers of tanning, doctors in the American Academy of Dermatology Association believe that they are a leading factor in skin cancer. Furthermore, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) lists tanning beds as health hazards, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) encourage people to avoid using tanning devices.

Considerations

According to Alanahu Cancer Resources, squamous cell skin cancer has a 20- to 30-year latency period. Because of this, tanning device manufacturers claim that the rise in skin cancer rates is from "poor decisions" made by people before the invention of the tanning booth.

Source

The Skin Cancer Foundation

Alanahu Cancer Resources

International Agency for Research on Cancer