Tanning As Dangerous As Poison? Not So Fast
By: Mitch Carr
Updated: July 30, 2009
A new study from the International Agency for Research on Cancer concludes that sunlight is just as likely to cause cancer as arsenic.
The IARC reclassified sunlight as a group one carcinogen, meaning researchers feel they have enough evidence to say that sunlight will cause cancer in humans. It had previously been classified in group 2A, meaning it would "probably cause cancer."
The study found that overexposure to the sun's rays can increase the risk of melanoma by 75% in people under the age of 30.
Rick Austin is the owner of Always Tan. He says he does not appreciate the way tanning beds are so commonly linked to cancer. Austin admits that overexposure to sun is dangerous, but says that the idea that tanning beds cause cancer is a baseless claim.
"I do not disagree with a statement that says that overexposure is bad, because that's the whole reason we are regulated so highly and why we take such extreme caution to make sure we don't overexpose people when we have them in the tanning bed. We want them to do it in a manner that we don't create a bad situation. We are giving them the dosage that [they] can take without burning," Austin said.
