Tanning Research Paper

Did they wake up thinking about it, did they want to stop but was unable, and if a person is constantly thinking they need to go tanning, could they be addicted? Indoor tanning has multiple effects on the human body, but many of these effects are not for the goodness of the body and can later in life cause horrible health risks. These effects on the human body are signs of addiction, health risks, and the mental state of the addict towards tanning. ADD BACKGROUND

People think the tanning bed is giving them the healthy glow, but this could be a sign of addiction. A study by The Archives of Dermatology,

“took a sample of 421 college students, 229 students who used indoor tanning and the rest did not. Throughout the study, the students had

been asked about their tanning habits. The questions were similar questions given to a person addicted to alcohol or other substances. The results showed 31%-39% met the criteria for an addiction of indoor tanning”.
Regular tanners also show higher health risks and have with addictive behaviors. Another study was conducted by “Catherine Mosher, a research fellow at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York. She took the amount of frequent tanners and performed a study showing 78% of the tanners claimed they had tried to cut the amount of time the spent in a tanning bed, but had a hard time and was unable to cut the habit. She also noticed that many tanners would miss important-scheduled plans to spend more time in the tanning bed. Dr. Mosher participated in further studies about the addictive tanning and the team of doctors she had been working with referred patients who “tan excessively” should be seen by a “therapist or another mental health professional”. (Parker-Pope). Out of all the indoor tanners they are all aware of the health risk. Multiple studies show that even with the health factors and the increase knowledge, many young more than others still partake in indoor tanning with little protection. Dr. Mosher stated at the end of her studies, “100 percent of them said they believe they can get skin cancer from tanning beds or booths, but it doesn’t prevent them from spending time using them” (Parker-Pope).
The risk of indoor tanning has been the culprit of the increasing chances of getting melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers, the development of eye problems and tanning related injuries.

Indoor tanning increases the risk of developing melanoma because the amount of ultraviolet radiation given off is more than the sun would give off if a person was outside of a summer day. Statistics from Melanoma Research Foundation shows, from one blistering sunburn the chances of developing melanoma later in life. In addition, “using tanning beds before age 30 increases your risk of developing melanoma by 75 percent” (Melanoma Research Foundation). The occasional use of tanning bed can triple your chances. Also, the more sessions, hour and years a person spends tanning increases a person to a higher risk of developing many types of skin cancer (Melanoma Research Foundation). People might think they can “safe tan” but tanning damages the skin cells giving off the color. “Researcher suggests cumulative damage to skin cells can lead to wrinkles, age spots, premature aging and skin cancer. Tanning has been classified as too dangerous the several countries have made indoor tanning illegal” (Melanoma Research Foundation). People try to give themselves an excuse to tan for example, getting that “base tan” before vacations but base tans do not really help a person protect themselves against sunburn but actually gives minimal sun protection. Tanning has risk but some small studies have shown that naloxone a drug that blocks the withdrawal

feeling.
Opposing studies have shown that frequent tanners that have the withdrawal symptoms are given naloxone to help cut the craving. A small study used mice as an example. First they would shave the mice then put a mouse in “20-30 minutes of UV light for 42 days” (Neurorexia) that is the same to the amount of UV rays a person would get on the beach of Florida. The study showed in the mice the flow of endorphins circulating in the body increased but then returned to normal within a week of not tanning. The mice are also getting tested on the pain tolerances which correlate with the rise in endorphins. The studies show “tanning is not addicting but is mostly mental dependency” (Neurorexia). Even though, these very small studies are taken on mice it is hard for a scientist to convert the data onto a human body. Scientist only tested on mice because they know the effect of tanning on a human and the effects of this test could harm the person more. Many of the scientist used naloxone as a substance to “numb the pain” to overcome the withdrawal, but if they claim tanning is not addictive then why are scientist using this drug as withdrawal medicine. The average human will spend more than 20-30 minutes under the sun give the data the scientist gathered from the mice irrelevant because they are not placing the mice in the reality of a person. The endorphins increased 30-50% during the time of the mice tanning, but the mice were also given naloxone to cut the cravings. If a study uses physical pain to increase the amount of endorphins in the mice, the pain tolerance will not be the same as a human creating not accurate data.
Knowing the symptoms and many studies taken to prove that tanning is addicting people will take in many factors such as signs of addiction, health risk, and the mental state of the addict towards tanning.