Darkening the Risks

Michigan State University students typically have two things to look forward to during second semester: hopes of a successful basketball team and spring break.  And for most collegiette’s, thoughts of spring break are synonymous with the thought of being tan.

“I’m not even going away and I want to come back tan,” said Amy Williams, a sophomore at Michigan State.

Despite the nonstop information expressing the dangers of frequenting tanning salons, for many students, tanning starts way before they reach the sandy shores; going to tanning salons is the norm for those planning on traveling.  People want to get a base tan to avoid burning or simply to avoid looking like a ghost in their bathing suits.

V.I.P. Tanning Salon in East Lansing, Mich., is the go to place for Michigan State students looking to get a little color.  Also available to students is Bronze Bay Tanning as well as private resident tanning beds in many apartment complexes.

The American Academy of Pediatrics announced that teens should be banned from tanning salons.

“We are looking for legislation that prohibits kids from going to tanning salons.  It’s protecting our youth from something potentially harmful,” said Dr. Sophie Balk, lead author of the statement written by the American Academy of Pediatrics committee.

Reports discuss many skin problems such as premature aging, as well as death by cancer.  According to Dr. David Fisher, chief of dermatology at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, the use of tanning beds is aging teenagers’ skin 10 to 20 years.  Burning and skin cancer is also a great risk associated with tanning beds.

According to the National Cancer Institute website, “Exposure to tanning salon rays increases damage caused by sunlight because ultraviolet light actually thins the skin, making it less able to heal.”  “Women who use tanning beds more than once a month are 55 percent more likely to develop malignant melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer,” they went on to say.

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There have also been many reports of damage to the eyes.  With all of these alleged risks, why do people continue to go to tanning salons? 

“I really don’t want to look pale and pasty,” said Amy Williams, a sophomore at Michigan State who is a regular at V.I.P., “I hear a lot of bad things about tanning, but I feel people tell you that you can get cancer from anything these days.”

According to Williams, young people are aware that there are possible risks but are not particularly frightened due to their lack of personal experience.

“I think that happens with everyone, it’s hard to stop doing something because someone, somewhere got hurt, not unless you know them.”  Says Williams.

Despite arguments from the Indoor Tanning Association, efforts are in full force to put a ban on the age of tanners.  In late 2011, California became the first state in the U.S. to ban tanning for those less than 18 years of age.

According to the American Cancer Society (ACS), there will be 76,250 new cases of melanoma in the United States and 9,180 deaths from the disease. 

As of now, there are no age limits to those allowed to tan in the state of Michigan.  It is up to each salon to enforce its own regulations on the age of tanners.  Some salons do not allow tanners under the age of 14 while others have no restrictions at all.  V.I.P. does not allow tanners under 16 without parental consent.

“I started tanning when I was like 15,” said Williams, now 20, “I would go before homecoming and prom and things like that.  But I would have to sneak around my mom because she would never have let me go.”