Public health officials see red over tanning salons
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* Brad Mackay

Public health officials in Ontario have launched a campaign aimed at outlawing the use of tanning beds for anything beyond medically prescribed purposes. Officials in London decided to act after learning that area tanning parlours were serving children as young as 8.

“We had an artificial tanning salon owner here providing 2-for-1 tanning coupons for Grade 8 students prior to their graduation dances,” explained Kaylene McKinnon, a London–Middlesex public health nurse.

A recent study of more than 10 000 US teens in 50 states, published in *Pediatrics* (2002;109:1009-14), found that tanning-bed use was increasing, particularly among young girls. Nearly 25% of girls aged 15 to 18 years reported using them, while 34% of 17-year-old girls said they had tanned artificially. Concern about exposure to ultraviolet radiation is growing as the prevalence of skin cancer increases.

“Here we have a decidedly money-making piece of equipment that is also a proven danger,” McKinnon said. “What would be ideal is that there would be no public access to artificial tanning equipment in our community.” (She said one of the few acceptable uses of the tanning beds is medically supervised treatment of seasonal affective disorder.)

McKinnon helped usher in a public education plan that focuses both on the public and on students at cosmetology and esthetician schools. The goal is to spread the skin-cancer-avoidance gospel while dispelling myths about potential benefits of tanning beds. 

One myth is that regular tanning will build up a natural barrier to the UV radiation, thus limiting the potential cancer risk. Dr. Jason Rivers, a professor of dermatology at the University of British Columbia, begs to differ. His study in the *British Journal of Dermatology* (1989;120:767-77) showed that tanning beds provided minimal protection — around 2 to 4 sun protective factor levels — but this was more than offset by effects such as skin cancer, premature aging and impairment of immune systems.

“Tanning beds give people a false sense of security,” said Rivers, who practises at the British Columbia Cancer Agency. “People are being informed that this is a healthy way of preventing sunburns and skin cancer, [but] there's no logic behind tanning beds. It's like saying you should smoke to prevent lung cancer.”

Currently, the only requirement for using a tanning bed is a signed consent form.

McKinnon says the lingering infatuation with bronzed actors and pop stars makes her mission difficult.

“Asking girls to stop tanning and accept their natural colour is going against current styles and trends. But it took 25 years to expose the truth about tobacco. … Now we're moving toward the same policies with tanning beds — we just have to continue to plug away.” — *Brad Mackay,* Toronto