Tanning beds reported to be as harmful as cigarettes

July 29, 12:14 PMBeauty ExaminerAnnalise Kaylor

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  Tanning beds are a leading cause of skin cancer

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Almost a month ago, a group of friends and I walked into a bar.  I was carded.  Not just once, but twice, to prove that I really was the person in the picture.  The waitress, upon realizing that I was indeed a woman in my thirties, proclaimed, "You just look so young!"

I attest that appearance of youth to my almost obsessive use of sunscreen.  And if looking younger isn't motivation enough, then consider a new report from the International Agency for Research of Cancer (IARC).

The IARC, which had previously classified tanning beds as a "probable" cause of cancer has now recommended moving tanning beds to "the highest cancer risk category" and be labeled as "carcinogenic to humans".

The IARC followed a review of research that concluded that the risk of melanoma - also known as the most deadly form of skin cancer - increased by 75 percent in people who started frequenting tanning beds prior to the age of 30.  In addition, they found evidence of a link between melanoma of the eye and the use of tanning beds.

For women aged 20 -29, the American Melanoma Foundation reports that melanoma is the most common cancer for that age group.  The World Health Organization estimates that as many as 60,000 people a year die from too much exposure to the sun, most of those deaths from skin cancer.