Tanning Beds: The Dark Truth Looking in magazines or watching television anyone can see that the latest trend is to have a dark golden tan, even in the winter. Tanning beds are used by people to tan all year around; men and women are no longer forced to schedule around the weather nor are they restricted by the time of day. Indoor tanning parlors have been used for years, but only within the last few years have scientists and doctors found their true dangers. Tanning beds are detrimental to the health of all users, illogical to use, and there are safer alternatives available. Tanning beds should be banned from use due to the harm they cause the uneducated people in society that use these beds. Tanning beds are hazardous to one's health for many reasons. First, when a person is outside he or she is exposed to UVB and UVA light rays. It is true that these rays are also dangerous, but not as bad as when one is lying in the tanning bed. The UVB rays are know as "the burning rays" and the UVA are known as the "the tanning rays" (Smoots ). Even though these natural sunrays are dangerous, they are not as concentrated as when in a tanning bed. .
Tanning beds use only the UVA light, which, according to Dr. Amonette in Fake and Bake, "[tanning beds" light rays] attack the blood vessels deeper in the skin, making them change color instead of the skin's pigment cells" . When the deeper blood vessels change color, that causes harm to the underlying tissue and can lead to melanoma, which is the most serious type of skin cancer (Munson, Yeykal ).Other types of cancer caused by tanning beds are basal cell and squamous cell. Both can be fatal if not detected and treated early. The UVA light rays cause the cancer cells to reproduce even faster than they normally would. Because of the rapid change in the tissue due to the tanning bed, one's immune system is weakened and is less likely to fight off any infection.
