Groups Lobbying to Ban Teens from Tanning Beds
In an ongoing controversy over whether teenagers should be able to go and get tans at indoor tanning beds, there is a new push for the government to step in and ban teens from tanning at all. Is this really fair?
And as a recent article pointed out that I read which quoted the head of the tanning industry as saying that teens can have children, have a license to drive, and have other priveleges, but they can’t simply go and get a tan and use their own judgment on not over doing it for their health?
It’s a valid point, and although I think that using these tanning beds excessively can be dangerous, I think that using them therapeutically, especially in the winter when there is barely any natural sunshine exposure and people’s vitamin D levels drop drastically, is actually a good thing. A – are you ready for this – a HEALTHY thing!
There, I said it. I think that the indoor tanning industry can actually have something good to contribute to this world when it’s customers use their facilities and services the right way – responsibly, and primarily to gain therapeutic benefit from it, not to get a tan, which can actually damage the skin if the skin is burned in the process.
That is the whole problem. If you burn yourself in these indoor tanning units, that is where the DNA damage occurs that can lead to skin cancer.
However, if one is cautious and does not get burnt, and also has a healthy diet rich in antioxidants and foods that contain a high concentration of beta carotene, a substance found abundantly in tomatoes and carrots, they actually have a higher internal sunscreen factor that helps protect them from getting burnt and suffering the dreaded DNA damage that can lead to melanoma skin cancer.
I wish that teens would be able to tan with one caveat – that they get EDUCATED on how to TAN SAFELY. If the tanning salons would take on this responsibility and can prove the benefits of vitamin D absorption and the other therapeutic benefits of tanning, they would be getting less trouble from those who may not necessarily understant the issue, but instead listen to the media.