International experts have moved tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation into the top cancer-risk category, calling them as deadly as tobacco use, arsenic and radon gas.
For
years, sunlamps and sunbeds were classified by the International Agency for
Research on Cancer (IARC) — part of the World Health Organization — as
“probable carcinogens.” Now, ultraviolet radiation tanning beds have
been moved into the highest cancer risk category — carcinogenic to humans.
This classification puts sunbeds in the same risk category as tobacco use,
radon gas, plutonium, radium, arsenic and radioiodines, which affect the
thyroids in children and adolescent survivors of nuclear reactor accidents.
The analysis by WHO cancer experts, who
reviewed approximately 20 different studies, concluded that the risk of skin
cancer jumps by 75 percent when people start using tanning beds before age 30.
The IARC experts also found that all types of ultraviolet radiation caused
“worrying mutations in mice, proof the radiation is carcinogenic.” Previously,
only one type of ultraviolet radiation was considered lethal. “People need
to be reminded of the risks of sunbeds,” said Vincent Cogliano, one of the
researchers from the IARC who contributed to the study. “We hope the
prevailing culture will change so teens don’t think they need to use sunbeds to
get a tan.” The research was recently published online in the medical
journal Lancet.
Most lights used in tanning beds primarily give
off ultraviolet radiation, which cause skin and eye cancer, says the agency.
However, with the increasing use of tanning beds by people under 30, doctors
have seen a parallel rise in the numbers of young people with skin cancer. For
example, in England, melanoma is now the leading cancer diagnosed in women in
their 20s. Typically, skin cancer rates are highest in people over 75.
News Release: WHO: Tanning beds can cause
cancer www.lef.org July 29, 2009
News Release: Tanning beds now listed among
top cancer risks www.usatoday.com July 29, 2009