Studies and news reports that expand the scope of Environment & Human Health, Inc.'s (EHHI) research reports about health and the environment. Click here for full reports at www.ehhi.org.
12 Steps to Reducing Carcinogenic Exposures
Tanning Salon Industry Launches Campaign Against Doctor's Warnings
Taking its cues from Big Tobacco, the tanning bed industry is fighting back against doctors with a training video for tanning salon employees. In a bold twist, the video teaches tanning bed operators to blame sunscreens—rather than tanning beds—for rising rates of potentially lethal melanoma and other skin cancers. Click to read more.
Study Shows Melanoma Rates Are on the Rise Among Young Adults
Early-onset melanoma is striking adults, especially young women, who frequent tanning salons more often than older adults. According to an article in the U.S. News and World Report, the incidence of melanoma increased eightfold among young women and fourfold among young men. The researchers looked for first-time diagnoses of melanoma in patients 18 to 39 from 1970 to 2009. Click to read more.
Cancer Risk: Connecticut's Legislature "Lost Nerve On Tanning Bed Bill" An editorial in the Hartford Courant faults the General Assembly for not passing a bill that would have required parental consent for tanning bed use in people under 18. Tanning beds have been shown to boost the risk of melanoma, a potentially deadly skin cancer. The measure expired without a vote in the Public Health Committee on the last day the panel could act. Click to read the editorial.
Canadian Teen Warns of Tanning Bed Risks A young woman who discovered that she had melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, in 12th grade, is warning other teens of the risks of using tanning beds. "I noticed a mole on my breast start to change—skin that had not been exposed to the sun at all—and I instinctively knew what had happened," said Malany James of Edmonton, Alberta. Popular television shows promote tanning, and may lead teens to start tanning at an earlier age. Click to read more.
Tanning Is Addictive and "Changes the Brain" Frequent tanning bed users experience changes in brain activity during their tanning sessions that mimic the patterns of drug addiction, new research shows. A study in the journal Addiction Biology says the reward pathways of the brain responds to ultraviolet light in the same way as a drug. Imaging of the brain showed that during regular tanning sessions, when the study subjects were exposed to UV rays, several key regions of the brain lighted up — areas that have been implicated in addiction. Read more in the New York Times.
Indoor Tanning Industry Denies Risks, Report from the U.S. House of Representatives Warns
Tanning salons provide false and misleading information to teens, according to an investigative report prepared by the minority staff of the Committee on Energy and Commerce. Salons target teenage girls with advertising and promotions, deny known risks of indoor tanning, provide false information on benefits of tanning, and fail to follow FDA recommendations on tanning frequency. Undercover investigators found that 90% of salons downplayed the risks of indoor tanning. Nearly 80% said tanning salons would be beneficial for health. Download the press release.
Indoor Tanning Strong Risk Factor For Skin Cancer In Young People Young people who use indoor tanning beds or similar devices have a 69% higher risk of developing a type of skin cancer called basal cell carcinoma (BCC), reports a new study. Led by researchers from the Yale School of Public Health, the study was published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology. The risk was strongest among women and increased with every year of using indoor tanning. Click here for news story.
American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) calls tanning a "hazard" for minors The AAP has published a policy statement that would bar children from using tanning beds or other artificial tanning devices. "Pediatricians should support and advocate for legislation to ban access to tanning parlors for children younger than 18 years," the AAP said in its policy statement on ultraviolet radiation, published in the March issue of Pediatrics. Other agencies to warn against the use of tanning beds are the American Medical Association and the American Academy of Dermatology. Click here for link to AAP's statement.
Avoid indoor tanning to prevent deadly and costly, warns the CDC According to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States.Melanoma is the third most common skin cancer, but is more likely to cause death than other skin cancers, causing 8,000 U.S. deaths and costing billions of dollars annually. Deaths caused by melanoma accounted for $3.5 billion in lost productivity each year during 2004-2006. The CDC recommends avoiding indoor tanning. Click here for the CDC's press release.
University of Minnesota study links indoor tanning to melanoma Frequent use of tanning beds can triple someone's risk of developing the deadliest form of skin cancer—no matter how old they are when they start—according to a study published in May 2010 by researchers at the University of Minnesota. Click here for news story.
Tanning beds as deadly as cigarettes
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) recently ranked ultraviolet-emitting tanning beds among the highest cancer risks, along with cigarettes, arsenic and asbestos. EHHI's pamphlet, 12 Steps to Reducing Carcinogenic Exposures, outlines ways to avoid cancer-causing threats to human health. Tanning beds used for cosmetic reasons are now classified as "carcinogenic to humans." Click here for news story.
Study links formaldehyde to more common cancers
Formaldehyde has long been linked to rare tumors of the nasopharynx, which includes the back of the throat, but new research links the chemical compound to cancers of the blood and lymphatic system. Click here for story.
