Indoor Tanning
Back in the time of the Renaissance, having skin untouched by the sun was a sign of wealth and sophistication. In today 's world, being pale is considered a burden and a sign of unattractiveness. Some cannot help but think that society puts a pressure on the youth of today to be thin, beautiful and most importantly, tan. People with pale skin are looked down upon in society today and thought of as looking sickly and pasty. This is the reason why indoor tanning became so popular, because no one wants to look sickly and almost everyone wants to look tan, like the stars. Indoor tanning is becoming ever more popular and has grown to a 2 billion dollar a year business in the United States and is a strong part of the American small business community (Skin Cancer Foundation). Over time tanning industries have claimed that tanning indoors is harmless and healthy, but many people argue about this. Contrary to what some people think, and would like to believe, indoor tanning is not a healthy alternative to tanning out in the sun. many complications can arise from too much sun exposure, for example, skin cancer. This can be caused by the UV lights in a tanning bed, which proves that they are just as bad for your body as the rays of the sun. Overexposure from tanning can cause serious long term effects on the body. The machines that created the indoor tanning industry came from Germany and were actually apart of medical research in the 1900 's. The first tanning lamp was created in 1906 by a company, Heraeus. This lamp was designed to help patients that suffered from disorders such as rickets (Cool Nurse). This helped patients to acquire stronger bones through larger exposure to vitamin D, produced by sunlight. Later on in the 1970 's, German scientist Friedrich Wolff decided to make a study about athletes and how they benefit from sunlight, he did this by using artificially produced UV light. However, how the athletes were affected by the light did not end up being his
Cited: "Effects of UV Radiation on You." Biospherical Instruments Inc. 2001. 28 Jan, 2007. . McClay, Edward F. MD. 100 Questions and Answers about Melanoma and Other Skin Cancers. Jones and Bartlett Publishers Inc., 2004. Mostow, Eliot N. MD, MPH. "Tanning." June 2006. Teens Health. 28 Jan, 2007. . "Promoting Responsible Sun Care and Sun Burn Prevention." The Indoor Tanning Association. 2005. 28 Jan, 2007. . "Skin Cancer." American Academy of Dermatology. 2006. 28 Jan, 2007. . "Skin Cancer." The Skin Cancer Foundation. 2007. 28 Jan, 2007. . "Sun Tanning." Cool Nurse. 2000. 28 Jan, 2007. . "Tanning is Natural: Rediscover the Sun." International Smart Tan Network. 2006. 28 Jan, 2007. . "The Darker Side of Tanning." Food and Drug Administration. 1997. 28 Jan, 2007. . "Ultraviolet Light and Vision." The Eye Digest. 2001. 28 Jan, 2007. .