March 27, 2001
Are tanning beds and booths safe?
By Carol Bogart
Lifestyle editor
In 1997, when the National Toxicology Program was reviewing data on substances proposed for the federal government's Report on Carcinogens, Ninth Edition, an advisory group recommended that ultraviolet light, whether from sunlight or an artificial source such as tanning booths and tanning beds, be listed as "known to be a human carcinogen."
NTP's Board of Scientific Counselors' review panel approved the listing unanimously. A draft of earlier scientific reviews stated: "Human studies have shown that exposure to solar radiation is causally related to skin cancer, and that use of sunlamps or sunbeds is associated with skin and eye cancer."
While sunlight has long been linked to skin cancers, including sometimes-fatal malignant melanoma, according to the National Institutes of Health, the 1997 recommended designation, "makes clear that sunlamps, tanning booths and other artificial sources of UV light are also hazardous, regardless of the claims of operators."
Industry reaction during the public comment period following the advisory group's recommendation was swift.
In advance of NTP's 10th Edition, Michigan's International Smart Tan Network took issue with listing ultraviolet light as a carcinogen. The network outlined its position. It said:
- The case for inclusion is built on half-truths.
- (There are) no known dose-response rates for skin cancer from UV light.
- The network doesn't believe a ubiquitous item should be a carcinogen.
- The positive effects of UV outweigh the negative for those who can tan.
- The photoprotective tan.
After considering the networks and other comments, the current recommendation to those compiling the 10th edition (publication date 2002) is to maintain the original designation and expand it to include "broad spectrum UV radiation."
Dr. Bill Jamison is head of the Toxicology Program's Report on Carcinogens group. He says, "The epidemiology is based on data from people who've (tanned) extensively." Ultraviolet radiation damages DNA which leads to tumors, he explains.
Jamison says sunbeds and sunlamps utilize UVA or UVB wavelengths. Because it's "hard to get pure A or pure B," Jamison says the current panel is recommending such wavelengths be listed as "reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen."
Bodyworks owner Diane Wadsworth acknowledges there are risks. She says, "Outside is probably more of a risk than it is inside because you're limited time here. When you get in the sun, you could be out there for hours."
Bodyworks provides eye-protective goggles but Wadsworth says, once the tanning booth door is closed, she doesn't know if clients use them. "I don't like to see anybody without, but I can't see what they're doing in the beds."
She also doesn't like to see people come in and "overtan themselves. Two or three times a week is plenty. Some people like to get carried away with it and get too much exposure."
Besides skin cancer, Wadsworth says such people run the risk it "will age them and make their skin get lots of wrinkles quicker."
Sometimes-tanner Colleen Miller says, "I try not to go too often so I don't get any problems."
Shawn Murphy avoids getting too deep a tan but says, "Your risks come with everything you do."