Why are tanning beds not safe?
The average tanning bulb emits 95% UVA radiation and 5% UVB radiation. The UVA rays are what cause the golden-tan received after tanning whereas overexposure to UVB rays cause sunburn (Women to Women, 1998). The main issue with tanning beds would be the link to causing different types of skin cancer. Melanoma, the cancer that is most commonly caused by UVA and UVB rays, has more than tripled over the past 2 decades, and one person dies of melanoma in this country every hour of every day. Ultraviolet irradiation is the predominant risk fact for the development of both melanoma and nonmelanoma skin cancers (Scarlett, 2003). Below are some examples of what some of the most common types of skin cancers look like. Are tanning beds a safe source for Vitamin D? Studies done by Decastro et al. report that exposure of the body’s surface to either direct sunlight or tanning bed radiation was effective in increasing blood concentrations of Vitamin D. In a study done by Decastro et al., the object
