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Tanning beds are as deadly as arsenic, cancer study says
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Douglas W. Morrison
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Jul 29, 2009 15:53 PDT
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Tanning beds are as deadly as arsenic, cancer study says
By Maria Cheng, Associated Press | July 29, 2009
LONDON - International cancer experts have moved tanning beds and
ultraviolet radiation into the top cancer risk category, deeming both
to be as deadly as arsenic and mustard gas.
For years, scientists have described tanning beds and ultraviolet
radiation as “probable carcinogens.’’
A new analysis of about 20 studies concludes the risk of skin cancer
jumps by 75 percent when people start using tanning beds before age 30.
Experts also found that all types of ultraviolet radiation caused
worrying mutations in mice, proof the radiation is carcinogenic.
Previously, only one type of ultraviolet radiation was thought to be
lethal.
The new classification means tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation
are definite causes of cancer, alongside tobacco, the hepatitis B
virus, and chimney sweeping, among others.
The research was published today online in the medical journal
Lancet Oncology, by experts at the International Agency for Research on
Cancer in Lyon, France, the cancer arm of the World Health Organization.
“People need to be reminded of the risks of sunbeds,’’ said Vincent
Cogliano, one of the cancer researchers. “We hope the prevailing
culture will change so teens don’t think they need to use sunbeds to
get a tan.’’
Most lights used in tanning beds give off mainly ultraviolet
radiation, which cause skin and eye cancer, according to the
International Agency for Cancer Research.
Previous studies found younger people who regularly use tanning beds
are eight times more likely to get melanoma than people who have never
used them.
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