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Can Tanning Beds Cause Cancer?
For years, scientists have described tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation as cancer-causing. Now international cancer experts have moved tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation into the top cancer risk category, deeming both to be definite causes of cancer.
According to a new analysis of about 20 studies conducted by Vincent Cogliano and colleagues from the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the risk of skin cancer rises to 75 percent when people start using tanning beds before age 30. Tanning bed use was also seen to cause about a 20 percent increased relative risk of developing melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer. (Link)
Cogliano and his group examined data from over 7,000 melanoma cases. They found a strong association between the use of tanning bed and the disease, the link compared to the one found between tobacco and lung cancer.
However, Dr. Joseph Mercola is quick to expose the researchers’ bias and urge the public to “critically analyze news stories that don’t make any sense.”
Why Tanning Beds Get Such Bad Press
Dr. Mercola asserts that the press release about tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation was based not on a new study, but on an IARC group meeting. He says that the bias of IARC investigators was evident from the start.
According to him, the scientists began their literature review with the belief that the sun is a well-established source of cancer. The group bought into this “commonly held, yet false belief about ultraviolet radiation, instead of looking at data outside their bias.”
Dr. Mercola quotes the Indoor Tanning Association:
“Media reports comparing indoor tanning to toxins like mustard gas, cigarettes, and arsenic are outrageously over-hyped. The same ‘group 1’ category includes red wine, salted fish, and regular sunlight – so these sensational headlines are as absurd as saying, ‘A glass of merlot is as deadly as mustard gas.’”(Link)
Dr. Mercola adds that the negative press on tanning beds usually surface every summer. “Why summer? So the lotion manufacturers selling outdoor lotions with SPF, sunless bronzers, and moisturizers with SPF can scare the heck out of the public and cause them to be sun phobic, encouraging them to purchase and use these products,” he explains.
Some type of financial incentive is gained by specific parties from this negative press on tanning beds, reveals Dr. Mercola. “Occasionally, the financial bias will be in who funded the study,” he adds.
The Truth About Tanning and UVB
The same IARC analysis cited studies showing how ultraviolet B (UVB) can damage DNA. However, there was failure to mention the documented benefits of UVB exposure: stimulating vitamin D production, regulating 23,000 genes in your body, and decreasing overall cancer risks by 50 to 60 percent.
Dr. Mercola clarifies that while excessive UVB exposure will increase skin cancer risk, “inappropriate avoidance of the sun will result in depressed levels of vitamin D, which will result in far more incidences of cancer and deaths.”
In dealing with studies such as this one, Dr. Mercola strongly recommends studying the evidence and reaching your own conclusions. He warns against accepting some abbreviated summary that’s widely disseminated in the media. “If the study contradicts common sense, be highly skeptical as it is likely a flawed study, no matter how many media sources are promoting it,” he says.
Keep reading this blog for more news on safe tanning beds.
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Tags: cancer, dr. joseph mercola, dr. mercola, safe tanning bed, safe tanning beds, Tanning Beds, Vitamin D
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