How Do Indoor Tanning Facilities Teach Sunburn Prevention?

The indoor tanning industry is at the forefront in educating people how to successfully avoid sunburn over the course of one's life. In fact, studies of indoor tanners have shown consistently that indoor tanning customers, once they begin tanning in a professional salon, are up to 81 percent less likely to sunburn than they were before they started tanning.

Consider that sunburn incidence in the general population has been steadily increasing. Sunburn increased 9 percent from 1986-1996, according to the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), and the sub-group most likely to burn was older men.

We believe that teaching people strictly to avoid the sun may be making them more likely to sunburn when they do go outside for summer activities - and everyone does go outdoors at some point. Consider:

• Tanning is your body's natural defense mechanism against sunburn, and indoor tanners have activated this defense against burning; non-tanners are more vulnerable when they inevitably do go outdoors.
• Indoor tanners are educated at professional tanning facilities how to avoid sunburn outdoors, how to use sunscreens appropriately and how to properly moisturize their skin.

When you also consider that the majority of people who sunburn are male, according to the AAD, and that 65-70 percent of indoor tanning customers are female, clearly, it is non-tanners who are doing most of the burning outdoors. In the war against sunburn, tanning salons are part of the solution. Those who abstain from sun exposure completely are more likely to sunburn when they inevitably do go outdoors, even if they attempt to wear sunscreen.

Smart Tanning Means Understanding Benefits and Risks

The professional indoor tanning industry promotes responsible indoor tanning and sunburn prevention as "smart." We choose not to use the word "safe." Here is why:

The word "safe" implies that one can recklessly abuse something without any fear of causing harm. And reckless abandon certainly is not the behavior the professional indoor tanning industry is teaching. In fact, we are playing a key role in successfully preventing that kind of reckless abuse. By teaching a "smart" approach to sunburn prevention that recognizes that people do perceive different benefits from being in the sun, we are able to teach sunburn prevention in a practical way that respects both the potential benefits and the risks of sun exposure.

For example, previous generations believed that sunburn was an inconvenient but necessary precursor to developing a tan. Today we know better, and we are teaching a new generation of tanners how to avoid sunburn at all costs. Again, our position: Moderate tanning is the best way to maximize the potential benefits of sun exposure while minimizing the potential risks of either too much or too little exposure.

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These graphs illustrate our point. The top graph shows the conventional thinking about sunlight: that totally eliminating sun exposure eliminates risks. That oversimplification is why the $30 billion sun-care industry tells us to wear sunscreen 365 days a year, no matter where we live. But the bottom graph is a more accurate, albeit more complicated, description of the risk function. The one thing we do know for certain about sunlight is that zero exposure does NOT equal zero risk; in fact, the risks of zero exposure would be deadly. So the risk function must be curved. The vertex of that curve - where risk is minimized - is different for every person and cannot be randomly defined. What's more, this graph does not even take into account the balance between benefits and risks. That has to be part of the equation if any campaign is going to be effective.

Human life is totally reliant on sun exposure, and the life-giving effects of ultraviolet light. The question for each of us - a question that nobody knows the exact answer to - is how much sun exposure is appropriate, and how much is too much. Basing the answer to that question on the belief that any exposure increases one's risk of skin damage - a belief that is not categorically supported in the medical literature -fails to recognize the positive influence ultraviolet light and sunlight have on our lives.

New research on breast cancer, prostate cancer, colon cancer and other deadly diseases - research that shows that regular sun exposure may play a key part in preventing the onset or retarding the growth of these deadly diseases - supports the position that moderate sun exposure, for those of us who can develop a tan, is the best way to maximize the potential benefits of sun exposure while minimizing the potential risks of either too much or too little exposure.

Tanning is a Natural Body Process

Tanning is your body's natural protection against sunburn - it is what your body is designed to do. Many have referred to this process as "damage" to your skin, but calling a tan "damage" is a dangerous oversimplification. Here is why:

Calling a tan damage to your skin is like calling exercise damage to your muscles. Consider, when one exercises you are actually tearing tiny muscle fibers in your body.

On the surface, examined at the micro-level, that could be called "damage." But that damage on the micro-level is your body's natural way on the macro-level of building stronger muscle tissue. So to call exercise "damaging" to muscles would be terribly deceiving. The same can be said of sun exposure: Your body is designed to repair any damage to the skin caused by ultraviolet light exposure. Developing a tan is its natural way to protect against the dangers of sunburn and further exposure.

Saying that any ultraviolet light exposure causes skin damage is a dangerous oversimplification. It would be like saying that since water causes drowning, humans should avoid all water. Yes, water causes drowning, but our bodies also need water; we would die without it. Similarly, we need ultraviolet light exposure; we would die without it. It is the professional indoor tanning industry's position that sunburn prevention is a more effective message than total abstinence, which ultimately encourages abuse. It is a responsible, honest approach to the issue.

Dermatology industry leaders, in attempts to scare people out of the sun, often have compared tanning to smoking, making the statement that indoor tanning is like a cigarette for your skin. This hyperbole alone calls into question the credibility of overzealous anti-tanning lobbyists.

On one level, comparing the numbers is ridiculous. Smoking is related to 20 percent of all deaths in the United States and 30 percent of all cancer deaths, according to the American Cancer Society. What's more, lung cancer rates are 22 times higher for current male smokers and 12 times higher for current female smokers.

In contrast, 18 of 22 studies ever conducted on indoor tanning and melanoma have shown no connection at all, and the four that have alleged small increases in risk have all contained unexplained statistical anomalies. Additionally, the most recent study - the largest conducted to date - showed no connection between tanning and melanoma. And this study was authored by the author of one of the four studies that did allege a connection.

On another level, smoking introduces substances into your body that your body is not designed to process. In contrast, your body IS designed to process UV light, and in fact is reliant on UV exposure for natural body functions.

The public and the press look up to medical professionals as objective sources of public health information. But when dermatology industry lobbyists obscure the facts and distort the picture to attempt to influence health policy, that creates an abrogation of trust that is unfortunate for all parties involved, and the consumer suffers.

What About Melanoma Skin Cancer?

Melanoma is the only form of skin cancer that is aggressive with any regularity. But you need to understand this clearly: Melanoma skin cancer does not fit the mold of other skin cancers for the following reasons:

• Melanoma is more common in people who work indoors than in those who work outdoors.
• Melanoma most commonly appears on parts of the body that do not receive regular exposure to sunlight.