Many young girls have adapted the habit of going to tanning beds in an attempt to avoid the sun while still looking tan all year round. Although many people think the tanning beds provide an alternative to the sun, this information is not true at all. The tanning beds are actually a very harmful option that may provide even more health risks than the sun itself.
As you expose your body to UV rays, you greatly increase your chances of developing skin cancer. Melanoma, which is the deadliest form of skin cancer, is easily developed through the use of tanning beds and sunburn. Not only are the UV rays the only risk you take when using a tanning bed, but also premature aging, immune suppression, eye damage, and possible allergic reactions. There are people who argue that these tanning beds are less harmful then sunburn, but these claims have never been proved and there is no evidence to support this. 
The UV rays not only increases risk of getting skin cancer, but can also lead to different, harmful skin effects to the body, such as “wrinkles, lax skin, and brown spots.” There is also extremely strong evidence supporting my previous point about melanoma, “indoor ultraviolet (UV) tanners are 74 percent more likely to develop melanoma than those who have never tanned indoors”. There are scary statistics shown that people should be aware of before thinking about going in tanning beds, “In the US alone, 419,254 cases of skin cancer can be attributed to indoor tanning. Out of this number, 6,199 are melanoma cases.”
I have always been one to discourage from going to the tanning beds. I agree with you 100% that people do not consider how bad they really are. I also agree that this is based on the common misconception that tanning beds are same as just laying out in the sun. I have never done real research or looked up the statistics behind how harmful tanning beds are but I have always just sworn against them. I would never think that laying in a box of UV rays could be better for anyone than simply laying out by the pool. It was nice to read your post and get actual statistics to back up my opinion. Maybe my friends will listen to me next time I tell them not to go to the tanning beds!
This post drew my attention because there seems to be a constant obsession with being tan in today’s world. I have friends that use the tanning beds, but I have always been against using them personally. This blog is very interesting, and also provides some very helpful information!
This post caught my eye because so many people from my home town use tanning beds, and I have never understood why anyone would think that it is even a mildly good idea to use them. In the tanning salon near my house (where I go to get spray tans) there is a sign that says “these tanning beds have been known to cause skin cancer.” If that isn’t obvious enough that it is a bad idea to use them, then I really don’t know what is.
I feel very strongly against the use of tanning beds and i am glad that you researched further into the topic. I always knew that tanning beds were very bad for your skin and increased your chances of getting skin cancer but i didn’t think of the other risks it could have on your body including damaging the skin through wrinkles, brown spots as well as immune suppression, eye damage and allergic reactions. It’s crazy to think that something so risky is still legal. This also reminded me of our discussions about cigarettes in class. I guess the only difference is that if you smoke a couple cigarettes in your lifetime you are not likely to get lung cancer whereas i read that going to a tanning bed only one time increases your risk for melanoma by 20 percent. The bad clearly outweighs the good with tanning beds.
I completely agree with you that tanning beds are extremely dangerous and misunderstood as being the same as tanning in the summer sun. Tanning beds are much more direct UV rays then the sun. In face I found that skin cancer in the United States is the most common cancer. Worse is that it isn’t just the skin that is damaged by tanning beds. The damage you could be doing to your eyes is also very alarming. Conditions like cataracts cause difficulty seeing and can be caused by tanning beds. I don’t think teenagers are aware about all the risks they are taking when they get into a tanning bed.