Summer tans fading quick, skin cancer risk rising quicker

KATHERINE BRACHELLI STAFF WRITER KB 727@CA BRII\"I .EDU

Everyone's summer tans are fading, but skin cancer is on the rise.

For years, teens have spent hours baking in tanning salons in pursuit of the perfect golden tan. Having a ·dark tan is hot, and plenty of teens across the country seem to agree.

According to Kim Nogay, sales representative for Hollywood Tans in Wayne, Pa., most of their customers are young, white females between the ages of 18 and 26. About 60 percent of their customers are college students, both male and female.

When Nogay was asked if their customer!iwere made aware of the health risks that were involved while tanning, she said, "We simply have our customers fill out a waiver that states we are not held accountable for any risks that our customers may gain while tanning. We don't really stress on making our customers aware of the risks of skin cancer. If I were to offer any personal advice to anyone who goes tan- ning, it would be, to be careful not to bum."

According to The Journal of the Medical Association, tanning beds can do more harm than just giving you a warm glow. ''.It has been proven that increased use of indoor tanning contributes to the incidence of nonmelanoma skin cancer seen in young populations, especially women. Skin cancer has now become the most common cancer in the United States, affecting more than 1,000,000 Americans every year. It accounts for more than 10,000 deaths annually, which represents approximately 4 percent of all cancer deaths," JAMA said.

In addition, JAMA conducted a study that examined the use of commercial tanning facilities by Minnesota adolescents. "It showed that 34 percent of study respondents had used commercial tanning facilities, with a lifetime prevalence of indoor tanning o( 51 percent for women and 15 percent for men. A surprising number of the skin cancers found in a Minnesota study did not occur on the neck and head. That is where most skin cancers occur because the head, face and neck are .exposed and bum fast. But the torso, where researchers found more skin cancers than expected in Minnesota, would be exactly where you would exped people who use tanning beds to get more exposure."

A 19-year-old' female Cabrini student who has gone tanning almost ever-other-day for the past two years said, "It's almost like an addiction. I am embarrassed to admit that I go tanning as much as I do. I just love going. Sometimes it scares me to think about the health risks. Then I figure if everyone else can do it and get away with being healthy, then why can't I?"

Cabrini College students are not the only students who are becoming a part of the tanning trend. JAMA reported that in the last four years the regular use of a tanning bed had increased from 2 percent to 6 percent among white females older than 18 years.

After taking an informal poll on Cabrini's campus, it has been found that the majority of Cabrini students were well aware of the risks of tanning.

Kelly Taylor, a senior marketing major, is well aware of the risks of skin cancer that you could receive while tanning. She said, "I rarely go tanning because it is not worth getting the skin cancer." Taylor suggested that maybe tanning salons should improve spray tanning instead.

Chrissy Magargee, a junior history major, said, "I think it is more of a vanity thing. I don't understand why people like it, when it is so fake. I think it is funny when people just look they got back from the Bahamas, in January."

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