William Atkins
Saturday, 01 August 2009 19:19
Science -
Health
Page 1 of 2
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization (WHO), has raised the safety and health concern over the use of tanning beds to its highest risk category of "carcinogenic to humans." Carcinogenic is defined as "cancer causing."
The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (
IARC) had earlier classified tanning beds as
“probably carcinogenic to humans” but has increased the warning to
“carcinogenic to humans,” which is its highest cancer risk category.
The July 28, 2009 WebMD article “
WHO: Tanning Beds Cause Cancer” states that
“Indoor Tanning Causes Melanoma.”
Tanning beds also go by such names as sunbeds, tanning booths, tanning sytems, and others.
Dr. Vincent Cogliano, a scientist with WHO’s IARC, stated that the organization raised the warning level of tanning beds because
“... the scientific evidence linking indoor tanning to the deadly skin cancer melanoma [is] ‘sufficient and compelling.’” [WebMD]
Over ten years of research concerning the use of tanning beds has provided a comprehensive amount of evidence that the use of tanning beds is dangerous. Dr. Cogliano adds,
“People mistakenly see a tan as a sign of health when it is actually a sign of damage to the skin.” [WebMD]
Specifically, the decision was made after many scientific reports came out that found teenagers and young adults who used tanning beds increased their risk of developing melanoma by 75%.
In fact, any person using tanning beds before the age of 30 years has a 75% increased risk of getting the deadly form of cancer called melanoma.
Page two continues with information on melanoma and the study on tanning beds and UV rays.
