The Influence Of Tanning Beds

2023 Words5 Pages

Many people strive to have beautiful, flawless, and tanned skin. In order to get that desired even bronzed glow year round, many people partake in the use of tanning beds, and tanning salons in communities throughout the country. Over the years, indoor tanning use has increasingly become more and more popular among adolescents and young adults. Tanning beds are equipped with special lightbulbs that emit ultraviolet, or UV, rays. These UV rays much like exposure to the sun, can harm the various layers of the skin. In a recent observation, it has been discovered that tanning beds cause what can be potentially severe health problems. Indoor tanning is dangerous because of the increased risk of multiple health problems, not the least of which is …show more content…

Perfect hair, perfect skin, perfect body, perfect teeth, and even perfect health are all characteristics that are portrayed in our culture, as what you need to be, in order to be attractive. The popular magazines and TV programs show celebrities that are presented to the public as having all these physical qualities. Young adults and adolescents are influenced greatly by pop culture and everything that is “in-style” or popular. Having a golden tan, is a highly valued physical attribute, is not easy to obtain unless you live in a warm southern climate. For everyone else, tanning beds seem to be a great alternative if you want nice smooth even bronzed glowing skin, and do not live in an area where it is warm all year round. They are not good, quite the contrary. Since the average tanning bed user is unaware of the dangers, they run the risk of skin cancer, eye cancer, eye injuries, or muscle and bone injuries, simply because they do not know, or refuse to believe the inherent risks associated with using a tanning bed. One of the main health problems tanning beds can cause is skin cancer. My grandmother was recently diagnosed with skin cancer. She said her skin cancer resulted from excessive exposure to UV rays when she was younger. She now has to live with dark spots, wrinkles and some scars where the skin …show more content…

Simply because they are not aware of the risks of very serious damage these devices have the potential to cause. Tanning beds are considered by the FDA (the Food and Drug Administration) as a certain type of medical device that is used for cosmetic purposes. Prior to 2014, tanning beds were labeled as a class I medical device by the FDA. This means they are a low risk device and have the least regulatory controls. Fast forward a couple years and all of a sudden, states are starting to pass laws to ban adolescents from using any form of indoor tanning. Out of nowhere, tanning bed companies are being pressured with new rules and regulations regarding the proper use of a tanning bed and the protection their users should take before utilizing the tanning bed. Since the risks of indoor tanning have been identified by the FDA, they have determined that tanning beds should be ranked in class II because they “are higher risk devices than class I devices and generally must meet additional regulatory requirements to provide a reasonable assurance of the device’s safety and effectiveness”. Some of the requirements include wearing protective eye goggles while using the bed, using some kind of sunscreen prior to use and limiting the use of a tanning bed to three days a week. Some tanning

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