Thirty years ago, when few people knew about the dangers of the sun, I founded The Skin Cancer Foundation to educate the public and medical professionals about the prevention, detection and treatment of skin cancer. Today, the message is being heard, but not always heeded. Skin cancer awareness is at an all-time high. A recent poll by the research company GfK Roper showed that 58 percent of people are concerned about skin cancer. Yet only 11 percent of people use an SPF 15 or higher sunscreen daily. And even though most of us now know better, unfortunately people still tan. In fact, nearly 30 million people tan indoors in the US every year.

We’ve known for years that ultraviolet radiation (UV) from the sun is a human carcinogen. Now, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has classified UV tanning devices (tanning beds and sun lamps) as among the most dangerous causes of human cancers — on par with other carcinogenic forms of radiation such as radon, solar UV, and plutonium. The risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, increases by 75 percent when you use tanning beds before the age of 30. Tanning also multiplies your chances of developing eye melanomas, cataracts, and other eye conditions.

The IARC’s report reinforces warnings from multiple health organizations encouraging people to refrain from using tanning beds. Now is the time to change not just your attitudes about tanning but also your behavior.

From the Sun & Skin News, vol. 26, No. 3, Fall 2009.