The Canadian Cancer Society wants people to think twice before getting a
base tan at an indoor tanning salon before a trip south during March Break.
“There’s no safe way to get a tan,” said Heather Chappell, the society's
director of cancer control policy. “Tanned skin is damaged skin. When your
skin changes colour after being exposed to ultraviolet (UV) rays, it’s
because your skin is trying to protect itself.”
The society says skin cancer is the most common type of cancer and it's also
one of the most preventable.
The Kentucky-based International Smart Tan Network released a report
Wednesday that says 92% of salon owners believe base tans help people
prevent sunburn.
“The dermatology lobby has beat its head against the wall trying to convince
people that base tans don’t exist and that any UV exposure is damage to the
skin, but at the end of the day, the science doesn’t support their view, and
what’s going on in the real world doesn’t support them either,” Smart Tan
vice-president Joseph Levy said in a release on the group's website. “Base
tans work. Millions of tanners are walking proof.”
Levy says a tan is the body's "natural and intended way to prevent sunburn"
and when it's paired with sunscreen, people "essentially multiply the
effectiveness of the sunscreen."
But the Canadian Cancer Society says there's conclusive evidence that indoor
tanning causes cancer.
"In 2009, the World Health Organization upgraded the classification of
UV-emitting devices, including tanning beds, from a probable carcinogen to a
known carcinogen ‹ in other words, from something that we think probably
causes cancer to something that we know causes cancer," the release says.
The society also says, "a tan offers almost no protection from sunlight or
burning."
The Canadian Cancer Society is calling on federal, provincial and
territorial governments to regulate the indoor tanning industry by requiring
UV equipment to be registered, staff to be licensed and equipment and
premises to be inspected regularly.
