Update: 12:32 AM 8/4/2009 – The use of tabacco poses a greater cancer risk than using tanning beds. So, whether you consider tanning beds as dangerous as the latest news implied may need to be taken with a grain of salt. Nevertheless, skin burns and over exposure is definitely deleterious. Caution and moderation is always recommended.

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The new research is in - there is “NO DOUBT that tanning beds or sunbeds DO CAUSE cancer,” according to International Agency for Research on Cancer as reported in Lancet Oncology last week.

They stated that tanning beds (sunbeds) are now one of the top risks to contracting cancer, along with arsenic and Hepatitus B.

No more conjecture whether or not sunbeds pose a cancer problem – it’s now official and definitive.

The evidence has shown that individuals who use the bed have a 75% greater likelihood of developing the most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma, than those who do not. Tanning beds can also increase risk of melanoma of the EYES.

Skin cancer rates are rising parallel to sunbed usage. What does this mean? It means that scientists are now certain that sunbeds are dangerous and are formally considered a major cause of cancer.

In the last 30 years, cancer rates have more than quadrupled, from 3.4 cases per 100,000 people in 1977 to 14.7 per 100,000 in 2006, growing by leaps and bounds in 2009.

A ban has been called for people under the age of 18 in certain countries.

Can you use a tanning bed safely? According to the Tanning Salon Industry, the greatest cancer risk occurs only when the skin is over-exposed to radiation suffering burns.

They also claim that most people use these beds less than 20 times per year, experience less risk.

This is a very personal decision – is the risk worth it to you? Will you continue to use tanning machines?

More information here:
Lancet Oncology Magazine – thelancet.com/lancet-about