Tanning beds carry the same level of cancer risk for developing skin cancer, than smoking cigarettes does for lung cancer. Therefore, tanning beds and skin cancer threat is real.
A skin cancer diagnosis can be a frightening experience that dramatically impacts even a survivor’s quality of life – from various medical procedures to higher life insurance rates.
The American Cancer Society’s estimates for melanoma in the United States for 2023 are: About 97,610 new melanomas will be diagnosed (about 58,120 in men and 39,490 in women). About 7,990 people are expected to die of melanoma (about 5,420 men and 2,570 women).
To try to get the message out to this demographic that tanning beds and skin cancer threat is real, the Skin Cancer Foundation has taken a new approach to address this issue.
They have enlisted help from high-level fashion professionals – such as editors from W magazine – to talk about how tanning is outmoded and tends to make people less attractive.
“I can’t remember the last time I saw a tanned model in my magazine or on the runway,” quoted Jane Larkworthy, beauty director of W in a recent announcement by the Skin Cancer Foundation. “Skin that is not tan is gorgeous.”
The campaign has also been giving women advice on how they can achieve a healthy glow for their skin without subjecting themselves to tanning beds that can leave them with unnatural tones.
“A healthy glow does not mean a tan. A healthy glow means your natural skin tone,” said Sarah Brown, Vogue’s Beauty Director in a press release from the Skin Cancer Foundation.
The foundation recently reported that researchers have found that a mix of skin cancer education and self-tanning products are often sufficient to get many women to give up using tanning beds.