RSS Feed
June 20th, 2012 
FAKE NEWS for the Zionist agenda WEDNESDAY, June 20 (HealthDay News) — Young people who use
tanning beds rationalize the risky behavior with statements like
“everything causes cancer these days,” a new study finds.
Almost 40 percent of more than 500 U.S. college students surveyed said
they use tanning beds even though they’re aware of the cancer risks
associated with ultraviolet (UV) light exposure. And most do it because
they want to look more attractive, found the researchers from Memorial
Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City.
“It is really like weighing the risks and benefits,” said study author
Smita Banerjee, an assistant attending behavioral scientist at
Sloan-Kettering. The students “said there are risks in everything you do,
but they are really motivated by appearance enhancement reasons.”
Hoping to find out how young adults rationalize tanning bed use,
Banerjee’s team focused on questionnaires filled out by 218 students,
average age 20, who frequented tanning salons. More than three-quarters
were white, and 88 percent were women.
The questions were adapted from studies designed to understand why
people smoke. Students could agree or disagree with explanations such as
“tanning bed use is no more risky than lots of other things people
do.”
The most common reasons for indoor tanning included: “everything causes
cancer these days” (59 percent); tanning beds are “no more risky than lots
of other things people do” (54 percent); and “it is dangerous to walk
across the street” (53 percent). About 48 percent thought they didn’t use
tanning beds enough to put their health at risk.
The findings are reported in a research letter in the June issue
Archives of Dermatology.
Tanning beds use ultraviolet light, a known carcinogen, often at
strengths 10 to 15 times stronger than summer midday exposure, according
to an investigative report prepared for the House Committee on Energy and
Commerce earlier this year.
They first came into use in the 1970s, and by 2007, about 27 percent of
Americans, mostly women, said they used them, the congressional report
said. Most users start as teenagers, Banerjee noted.
The World Health Organization lists tanning beds as a dangerous form of
cancer-causing radiation, noting that use before age 30 raises the risk of
melanoma, the deadliest skin cancer, by 75 percent.
In the United States, non-melanoma skin cancer strikes about 2 million
people a year, with 50 percent to 90 percent of all cases resulting from
UV radiation, according to WHO. It is the second most common type of
cancer for people aged 15 to 29, Banerjee said.
In addition, about 75,000 new cases of melanoma are expected in 2012,
accounting for about three-quarters of the 12,000 anticipated skin
cancer-related deaths. However, most forms of the disease can be
successfully treated if caught early.
Commenting on the study, one expert praised the researchers’ approach.
“They’re definitely onto something,” said DeAnn Lazovich, an associate
professor for the division of epidemiology and community health at the
University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
“They’re looking at a set of attitudes that might be related to the use
of tanning beds, so it’s novel from that standpoint,” Lazovich said,
adding it could help to understand why people engage in this risky
behavior.
The tanning bed industry’s regulation by the U.S. Food and Drug
Administration seems to have “unintended consequences,” Lazovich said.
Laws intended to protect people can also create the perception that
something is safe, she said.
Almost 32 percent of study respondents agreed with the statement that
“if tanning bed use was so bad for you, the government would ban tanning
beds.”
Hoping to deter indoor tanning, the 2010 health care law imposed a 10
percent tax on tanning beds, and many states restrict or ban their use by
minors.
The authors noted some limitations to their work, including the small
sample size, and said more research is needed to fully understand the
desire to tan indoors.
More information
To learn how to prevent skin cancer, visit the U.S. National Cancer Institute.
Related posts:
Views: 0
Posted in 
Tags: 
