Ban Teenagers From Tanning Salons

Ban teenagers from tanning salons

Five percent of the business at San Diego's Hollywood Tans was from teenagers. The number of teenagers going to tanning salons is on the rise. The annual revenue brought in by teenagers using the salons has reached five billion dollars (California 1). Although it helps the tanning salon industry, it is a huge health threat to the teenagers. They can get sunburned which the inflammation of the skin is caused by overexposure to ultraviolet radiation. It is also believed that sunburns can essentially be the cause of skin cancer, particularly the deadly form known as melanoma. There is already a risk of getting the cancer from the sunlight let alone from the tanning beds. Tanning in beds should be banned for teenagers.

Most teenagers don't even realize the horrible things they are doing to themselves every time they lay in the beds. The ultra violet rays (UVA &UVB rays) coming off the bulbs are actually hurting their skin. Being tan is in fact not healthy. The creation of melanin, the chemical in your body that creates the brown color, is your skin's reaction to getting damaged. Another thing the tanners could potentially get from tanning in the beds is skin cancer which can sometimes be deadly. Ultra violet radiation, which is just the radiation from the light source to you skin, is what is so dangerous. Tanning to the common teenager is cool to do, yet they don't know why they get tan besides the light source, they also don't think the superficial problems will happen to them.

There are many not-so-beautiful things that arise later in life from prolonged tanning or bad burns. The skin is a very delicate organ which after being damaged from sun exposure can sag, wrinkle, obtain a leathery texture, and have a blotchy

discoloration (National 4). According to one teen, "I'm going to get old and look bad anyway. I'd rather look good now" (Catching 3). It is known that the damage happens to mare people with fair complexions, which is why people who have fair skin should not go tanning. The reason skin sags is because the way the skin is structurally put together gets damaged by UVR. According to Wayne Mercer from body building.com:

What many of the natural tanners don't realize is that the

rays from the sun are radiation similar to that of any radioactive isotope. The radiation pierces through your skin, and then physically changes your very own DNA into a mutant form, which often times causes you to develop skin cancer. (Mercer 1)

There are also metabolic disorders that can be brought out by exposure to UVR, such as lupus erythematosus and polymorphous light eruption. These are brought out by certain wavelengths of the UVR spectrum. These disorders can also occur because of an interaction of commonly used drugs and UVR, as well as chemicals used in household products.

There are a few types of skin cancer you can get from the exposure to the UVA & UVB rays. Basal cell carcinomas (BCC) are the most common type of skin cancer of white people. It looks like a sore or mole, and are usually found on the head and neck region. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a type of skin cancer that is a tumor under the skin, which needs to be removed by surgery. Usually people with lower amounts of melanin are more susceptible to getting the skin cancer tumors.

Tanning does have some benefits. Exposure to UVB creates vitamin