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Jacquelyn Jordan Ms. Funsch LNG 322 29 March 2012 Are Tanning Beds Safe? The safety of tanning beds is often questioned by individuals. It is best to inform oneself about the health effects of tanning. Tanning beds give off similar rays that the sun gives off. If tanning beds are banned for teenagers that will not stop them from getting tan. More teenagers will sit outside for several hours a day instead of a couple minutes in a tanning bed. Emily Finger is a close friend of mine who uses tanning beds. She has had no bad health effects from tanning. Emily uses tanning beds to save time. She spends about 10 minutes in a bed instead of hours in the sun. She started using tanning beds because she did not feel pretty being pale. Tanning helped give her the confidence she needed to feel better about herself. Since she started tanning she has become more independent and has turned into a social butterfly. Emily is now in college and loves meeting new people. Tanning gave her the extra boost she needed to become all that she can be. Emilys experience with tanning shows that tanning is not always a bad or harmful thing. Sometimes it can help an individual with their low self-esteem. Tanning will not always turn one into the next cancer patient. Sunlight and tanning beds have been turned into the bad guys in the world of cancer. Exposing your unprotected skin to natural sunlight and even using a tanning bed are not necessarily the highly dangerous, cancer promoting activities that many in the government and media would have you believe they are (Huff). Tanning does not always cause cancer. Problems with skin are encountered when one overexposes themselves to sunlight or tanning bed. Regular

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exposure to moderate levels of sunlight promotes good health through the healthy production of vitamin D in the body (Huff).Tanning in moderation will not always have the ill effects the government describes. When one is exposed to sunlight more vitamin D is produced in their body. This helps to keep an individual healthy. Low vitamin D levels can be associated with some cancers. Vitamin D also helps to boost the immune system when one is sick with the flu. Johan Moan, a scientist and researcher from the Department of Radiation Biology at OUHs Institute for Cancer Research found that the benefits derived from exposure to Vitamin Dproducing UV rays far outweigh the miniscule risk of developing cutaneous malignant melanoma(Huff). This risk of getting melanoma from tanning is very small compared to what one can benefit from being exposed to UV rays. Huff a staff writer of Natural News quotes Moan Sun exposure is commonly supposed to be the main cause of cutaneous malignant melanoma in most populations. However, the matter is disputed. Exposure to UV rays is not the only cause of melanoma and it is not the main factor that contributes to this form of cancer. Tanning can be helpful in many ways for individuals. Tanning beds can help save time for people and is much more proficient than using the suns rays. Tanning in a tanning bed is first of all; much more efficient than using the huge nuclear reactor we call the sun (Mercer). People would have to spend more time in the sun than in a tanning bed. On average one would have to spend an hour or more in the sun to get the same effects of using a tanning bed for 10 to 15 minutes. Tanning beds offer significantly reduced ultraviolet rays. What many tanners dont realize is that the rays from the sun are radiation similar to that of any radioactive isotope (Mercer). The suns rays are similar to those of a tanning bed. Basically the sun and a tanning bed are equivalent in that they are both radioactive isotopes. When an individual goes to tan the salon workers will give them eyewear to protect

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their eyes and will make sure the bed that will be used is properly sanitized. The staff of a particular salon should advise you about the maximum exposure time for the particular device you will use, the operation of emergency shut off controls, the requirement for protective eyewear, and the location of personal hygiene facilities (Mercer). Tanning beds can have harmful effects when not cleaned but when properly maintained can greatly help an individual. Many people believe that laws should ban minors from going to tanning parlors (Park). Tanning is a right just like the right to bear arms. Tanning for teenagers can help them with their confidence levels and can make them feel better about themselves. This can help teenagers transition through the awkward phase of life they are experiencing. The government wants to have regulations to control who can tan and who will not be allowed to use tanning beds. There is no scientific evidence that tanning is any worse at a younger age (Mercer). Tanning at a younger age does not mean one is more likely to have skin cancer. Tanning younger can help skin not burn every time they spend a little too much time outside. Tanning has very little harmful effects compared to the benefits it can give to individuals. There are rare cases of teenagers getting melanoma but this threat is very miniscule compared to the benefits received from tanning. Tanning has helped many people get the confidence they need to feel better about leaving the house every day. For some it helps them become the social person they want to be. Cancer is not always a major threat when using tanning beds. One must always know the benefits and harms of tanning before they start using a bed.

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