Despite constant warnings from health care professionals, many students at ASU continue to crave the bronzed look they get from tanning beds.
This July, experts reported that tanning beds belong in the top cancer risk category and can be as deadly as arsenic and mustard gas, according to the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Dr. Joe Brown, a naturopathic doctor who works with cancer patients in Tempe, said skin cancer is a constant problem he sees among patients.
“If you stood out in the sun, the UV rays only penetrate the top layer of skin,” Brown said. “The tanning booths are actually penetrating deeper down into the dermis of the skin.”
Brown’s theory about why people ignore warnings is that they are more focused on looking good in the short term instead of thinking about the long-term consequences of using tanning beds.
“A lot of the college students are sitting in the beds for a long period of time,and then later down the years you’re getting a lot more moles, which are turning into cancerous moles, and it turns into skin cancer,” he said.
While secondary education sophomore Audrey Sundberg visits a local tanning salon at least three times a week, and she said she is still afraid of the long-term consequences.
“The only thing that worries me is how I’m going to look when I’m older,” Sundberg said. “I’ll probably stop [tanning] soon, once I’m more comfortable with myself, I guess.”
Sundberg has used tanning beds for four years and said she has found herself somewhat addicted to the way it makes her look, she said.
“The reason I actually started going tanning is because I heard it would clear up my acne,” Sundberg said. “I had really bad acne when I was a lot younger, and someone suggested I try tanning and it worked.”
Now she said she uses the beds because she feels more confident when her body has a little color.
“Anything can be OK when you use it in moderation,” Sundberg said. “But I would say I overdo it. I’m willing to admit it.”
Speech and hearing sciences sophomore Brianna Russe also started going to tanning beds in high school.
“I don’t tan in the summer, but I probably go two or three times a week [in the winter],” she said.
Russe said she knows tanning beds can become addicting.
“A lot of people think they look better in their clothes [when they’re tan], but with everything coming out from the health board it’s definitely scary,” she said.
Though she started going to get a little color for school dances, it has become more of an issue of convenience. While Russe said she would prefer to lie by the pool, she no longer has time, she said.
“We pay for it in our rent, so we might as well use it if we’re paying for it,” she said.
Her apartment complex, Campus Suites on Apache Boulevard, is one of several apartment complexes that include tanning beds as an amenity for residents.
Gina Cowart, a spokeswoman for the Vista del Sol apartments on the Tempe campus, said in an e-mail that many college students consider tanning beds an essential amenity when choosing housing.
“We follow all tanning bed regulations set by state and federal authorities and require all students to sign and acknowledge in their leases any potential health risks,” Cowart said. “We also post required regulatory signage near the tanning facilities, and we provide resident education on the importance of using moderation (and sunscreen) when laying by the pool or using tanning beds.”
Students like Russe know lying by the pool can be just as dangerous as using tanning beds, and she said she will someday stop tanning entirely.
“The warnings are scary and I won’t keep tanning, but I do now,” she said. “It’s kind of taboo. I don’t really know why I keep doing it.”
Reach the reporter at vajones2@asu.edu.
