Skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States and about 1 in 5 Americans will develop the disease in the course of a lifetime. According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, 90% of skin cancer is caused by an overexposure to ultraviolet radiation, which has equal amounts in both direct sunlight and tanning beds. Tanning beds, which Americans alone spend $5 billion on annually, reports the Associated Press, outnumber the McDonalds and Starbucks in major cities, reports a new study by public health researchers at San Diego State University.
Ever since Coco Channel declared tanning “in” in the 1920s, Americans have been aching to get that bronze glow. When asked why they go tanning, 8 out of 10 Brigham Young University students give answers related to looks; a tanned person is viewed as healthy, young and rich while a person with a paler complexion is viewed as sickly and unattractive. “I like that you get darker when you tan,” says Paint Branch senior Amanda Lukas. “You’re not pale anymore. Everything just looks better.”
So why do people do it? Unlike smoking, according to smoking-cessation.org, a website devoted to helping people quit, where gases such as formaldehyde, ammonia and hydrogen sulfide irritate your throat within seconds of the first puff, tanning gives people a feeling of contentment, and, according to the Mayo Clinic, some scientists even believe that the vitamin D responsible can cure Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD). But apparent or not, both tobacco and tanning beds are considered definite causes of cancer, according to MSNBC, who report tanning can be deemed as deadly as arsenic and mustard gas.
Hayatt Mohammed, a junior at Paint Branch says, “If it’s not your natural skin tone, frying your skin is not good. It’s crazy.” Another Paint Branch junior, Angeline Johnny, asserts that she is not into the craze, “[If you’re addicted to] tanning, it shows a person has no self-esteem. It’s not good for you and you’re just endangering yourself; it doesn’t matter if it feels good or not.”
One might note that smoking and tanning are most often social activities. A person may go to the beach with friends or be pressured into taking a drag to fit in. “As with smoking, tanning can be hard to give up because it can be a big social experience,” says Steven Feldman, professor of dermatology and public health at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in an interview with Allure magazine.Ultra-violet rays, like nicotine, are known to be addictive. As the radiation steadily mutates your epidermis, “feel-good” brain chemicals called endorphins flood your brain, filling you with a great sense of elation and the desire for more.
But how can you thwart a deadly addiction coupled with your body’s natural opiate?
“It’s the same as cigarettes,” Feldman explains. “If we can educate kids to the point where they know and understand that yes, you feel better and yes, you enjoy going out in the sun but in the long-term it’s not good for you … and that if you use sunscreen when you go play golf or tennis or work in the garden you can protect yourself and still feel good — then we can reduce dangerous sun-seeking behavior.”