Health

Tanning Beds and Skin Cancer Linked: 'Carcinogenic to Humans'

by Jordan Yerman | July 29, 2009 at 06:17 am

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Tanning beds and cancer have been linked. According to the IARC's Cancer Monograph Working Group, the risk of developing melanoma (skin cancer) jumps 75% in people under 30 if they regularly use tanning beds.

The IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) has placed UV tanning beds in its highest cancer-risk category ("carcinogenic to humans", whereas before they wee considered "probably carcinogenic"), which places it in some infamous company indeed. The results of the study are published in this month's Lancet.

Tanning beds are as deadly as mustard gas, arsenic, plutonium and other known carcinogens, international cancer experts have ruled.

The results f the study (previewable online by non-Lancet members) will be published as part D of Volume 100, IARC Monographs.

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Jim Finousse (not verified)

at 00:45 on September 18th, 2009

Tanning beds are part of a multibillion dollar industry yet there may be special interests who would want to "spin" these findings to maintain those revenues. It is good though to have a scientific basis for this and not rely strictly on what special interests might say.