Despite the increased warnings about damage to the skin caused by ultraviolet radiation, many teenagers rush to get tans from tanning beds. Tanning booths emit ultraviolet rays. More teenage girls use tanning beds than boys. In a study reported in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 40 percent of white adolescent girls 13 to 19 used a tanning bed at least once and 28 percent used the beds three or more times. The study found that 12 percent of boys had used a tanning bed once and seven percent used it three or more times.
Pop Stars
Many teenagers turn to tanning beds because of the use of artificial tanning by pop stars. Tanned celebrities grace the covers of magazines and are seen popularizing tanning when showing up with their bronzed skin at events. But dermatologists point out that many of these celebrities, who include singers, movie stars and models, get their tans from self-tanning creams that work without exposure to the sun. They are too concerned about skin damage and wrinkles caused by the sun to risk hurting their careers. Some celebrity tans are even the result of re-touched photographs.
Tanorexic
The term "tanorexic" has popped up to describe teens who believe they need a deeper tan. It's similar to anorexia, in which people think they aren't thin enough, no matter how much weight they lose. Tanned teens may fool themselves into thinking they are still pale in complexion. There may be more than 25 percent of teens and young adults who have this obsession with tanning, according to SteadyHealth.
Beauty
Teen girls use tanning beds more often than boys, which may also reflect the desire of young women in general who believe a tan enhances their beauty. But women who tan in tanning beds are more likely to develop melanoma than women who don't, the American Cancer Society (ACS) says.
Teen Concerns
So many teens are using tanning beds to get a tan before summer starts that the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned people younger than 18 to avoid tanning salons because of the risk of skin cancer it can cause. The excessive use of tanning beds by teenagers has helped lead to the rise in skin cancer rates, the WHO says.
Not Safer
There is no evidence that tanning in a bed is safer than being exposed to the sun, according to the ACS. Tanning beds expose the user to damaging ultraviolet radiation. Basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers are curable, but thousands of Americans die each year because the cancers aren't treated in time. Melanoma, an often-fatal skin cancer, is on the rise in the U.S., and the popularity of tanning beds may be part of the reason.
