With the incidence of skin cancer on the rise, it has never been more important to share the message that prevention and detection are the keys to avoiding this potentially life-threatening condition. Simple steps, such as using sunscreen, wearing a hat, and avoiding the sun when its rays are the strongest, are easy ways to help prevent skin cancer.
This message is particularly important for children and adolescents, since skin cancer is commonly associated with excessive ultraviolet light (UV) exposure before the age of 18. Yet recent studies of young people suggest that the prevention message is not being heard, or worse, is simply being ignored.
Speaking today at the American Academy of Dermatology’s Melanoma/Skin Cancer Detection and Prevention Month Press Conference, dermatologist James M. Spencer, MD, Vice Chairman, Department of Dermatology, The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, discussed the dangerous mix of teens and tanning.
According to current statistics, nearly half of all new cancers are skin cancers and more than 1 million new skin cancer cases will be diagnosed in the United States this year. It is also estimated that skin cancer will claim 9,800 lives in 2003.
In a recent survey of over 10,000 young people ages 12-18 from all 50 states, it was found that the simple use of sunscreen on sunny days was practiced by only 34.4 percent of youths surveyed. In addition, the survey discovered that 83 percent of teens had experienced at least one sunburn in the previous year, and 36 percent of those who were burned had experienced three or more sunburns.
The survey also found that natural sunlight wasn’t the only significant source of UV exposure for teens. Approximately 10 percent of young people surveyed said that they had used tanning beds in the previous year. Of this group, young women were found to be most likely to use indoor tanning devices. This fact was supported by the results of a recent study of American attitudes about tanning conducted by the American Academy of Dermatology, which found that 26 percent of young people under age 25 had used a tanning bed in the past year. Of that 26 percent, more than half were young women.
“The incidence of indoor tanning is particularly troubling because it is so unnecessary,” stated Dr. Spencer. “It’s not associated with playing sports or other outdoor activities, but is practiced solely for cosmetic reasons. Teenagers are intentionally putting their health at risk.”
Current evidence also suggests that the use of artificial tanning devices increases with age. According to a recent survey, approximately 7 percent of girls age 14 had used tanning beds in the last year, while 16 percent of girls age 15 had reported doing so. By age 17, the statistic increased to 35 percent of girls who had used tanning beds in the last year. In addition, a recent survey of college students at a midwestern university found that 47 percent of students had used indoor tanning beds in the last year. Of those surveyed, 90 percent also admitted to knowing that tanning is a health risk, yet they continued to use tanning beds frequently.
Recent studies of the UV emission spectrum of tanning beds illustrate the similarities between tanning bed exposure and that of natural sunlight. Sunlight consists of two types of harmful rays – UVA rays and UVB rays. UVB rays are the sun’s burning rays, while UVA rays penetrate deeper into the dermis to cause skin damage. While the UVB exposure levels in tanning beds were similar to natural sunlight, the UVA levels were 10 to 15 times higher. These high exposure levels correspond to an overall UV “index” of 13. In comparison, an average UV index during a hot summer day is 8.5.
“There seems to be a popular misconception among young people that indoor tanning is ‘safer’ than exposure to outdoor sunlight,” explained Dr. Spencer. “However, tanning beds still emit dangerous levels of UV rays and are considered a serious health risk.”
This fact was supported by the Department of Health and Human Services December 2002 report that added “broad spectrum ultraviolet radiation produced by the sun and artificial light sources” as a known carcinogen to the 10th annual cancer listing of 228 substances linked to cancer.
It is still uncertain as to what is the most influencing factor in a young person’s decision to tan. When asked in recent surveys about their desire to tan, teens replied that they simply “preferred” tanned skin, they wanted to emulate friends that were tan, or they felt that receiving a sunburn was a good way to begin the tanning process. What is certain from this information is that the risk of skin cancer does not seem to be a factor in a teen’s decision to tan.
“Pressure to conform to cosmetic ideals presented in popular culture and advertising are powerful factors influencing the young. These are pressures that can be changed,” said Dr. Spencer. “Parents, the medical profession, and the government, working with the media, entertainment and advertising industries, can change these unhealthy attitudes and help reverse the current trend of dangerous sun exposure for today’s teens.