Small amounts of ultraviolet radiation are beneficial to health and play an important role in the body's production of vitamin D. However, excessive exposure to UV radiation can have negative health effects.
Children and adolescents are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation. Excessive tanning may contribute to the development of skin cancer. According to the State Sanitary Inspection, developing skin is more susceptible to the negative effects of ultraviolet radiation.
In 2009, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified the use of tanning salons as a highest-risk carcinogenic factor. The risk of skin cancer increases by as much as 75% when tanning salons are used by people under 30. Repeated use of tanning beds during the year contributes to intensified premature skin-aging processes and the occurrence of cancers, including melanoma (one of the least common skin cancers, but also the most dangerous; approximately 40–50% of melanoma cases develop from existing or newly formed pigmented lesions on the skin). Tanning-salon addiction, known as tanorexia, is also dangerous.
It has been established that during a single visit to a tanning salon, the skin absorbs a dose of radiation 20–25 times greater than during natural tanning. White skin is not adapted to absorbing such a large amount of UV radiation.
Asked for comment, Dr Małgorzata Bartkowiak said that from a dermatological point of view, using a tanning salon is not justified. “Using tanning salons can cause more harm than good. Patients come to me who have clearly been harmed by it,” the doctor stressed. “I am glad that such a campaign is under way; it is worth informing people about the dangers associated with excessive tanning.”
(Sanepid information/ii)