What Are These Machines?
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These machines are used to emit Ultraviolet radiation (primarily 97% UVA and 3% UVB) so that the user can receive a cosmetic tan. There are different forms of tanning devices but they mainly consist of a couple dozen fluorescent tubes (filled with a phosphor blend) that emit a UV light spectrum similar to that of the sun.
Are These Machines Safe?
These so called "safe tanning" machines are absolutely NOT safe. These devices emit Ultraviolet Radiation that may be 12 times the amount of radiation you can get from the sun. Furthermore, you expose yourself to the UV rays without any sort of protection, unlike natural sunlight and its factors that come into play. Another negative fact is that tanning beds thin the skin, meaning that your skin is more susceptible to damage from the sun.
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A 13 year old male (left) and a 14 year old female (right) have been severely injured and hospitalized because of the artificial tanning. They both spent to much time in a tanning booth and as a result, blistering sunburns occured
Did You Know?
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- 419,000 cases of skin cancer every year is caused by indoor tanning
- Out of the 419,000 only 6,199 are Melanoma cases
- One indoor session can increase the user's risk for Melanoma by 20% and an additional 2% per session
- Those who tan before age 35 have a 75% higher risk of getting Melanoma
- 76% of Melanoma cases between the ages of 18 to 29 have been caused due to indoor tanning
- In England, Nine out of Ten tanning booths emit unsafe levels of Ultraviolet Radiation
- A minute in a common England tanning booth is twice as much exposure as a minute in the midday Mediterranean Sun