One-third of Western Women Use Indoor Tanning

A new study found that one-third of women from the Western countries have used indoor tanning.

Researchers from the University of California in San Francisco led by Eleni Linos discovered that indoor tanning can cause skin cancers more than the rate of prevalence of lung cancer due to smoking.

They compiled and analyzed data collected between 1986 and 2012. The data was from more or less than half a million individuals in the United States, Australia, and 14 more countries in the Eastern and Western Europe.

After the study, they found out that 36 percent of adults and 55 percent of college students have been exposed to indoor tanning. The percentage for teens was smaller at just 20 percent or one out of five.

Additionally, about 18 percent of teens and 43 percent of college students have reportedly been exposed to indoor tanning. The figures implied that younger people were more prone to using indoor tanning.

Furthermore, they found out that approximately 419,000 cases of basal and squamous cell carcinoma plus about 11,000 cases of melanoma each year are due to use of indoor tanning.

Brenda Cartmel, a cancer prevention expert from the Yale Cancer Center and the Yale School of Public Health in New Haven, Conn., who is not part of the study, explained that many individuals do not understand or disregard skin cancer.

"We really don't know what's going to happen to these people who are exposed to indoor tanning now when they get to be 60 or 80," Cartmel said to Reuters. "(The study) is very timely in its publication as many states that don't yet have indoor tanning bans for minors are working toward getting that legislation passed."

"I think it's important for people to realize that it's a class one carcinogen. I don't think people who indoor tan realize that," Cartmel added.

This study was published on the Jan. 29 issue of JAMA Dermatology.

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