Wrinkles bigger sunbed deterrent than skin cancer
Reported May 18, 2010
Wrinkles are a bigger deterrent than skin cancer when it comes to warning young women about the dangers of sunbeds.
Scientists discovered the fear of having leathery, wrinkled skin put girls off going to tanning salons more than the threat of deadly melanoma.
“They’re not worried about skin cancer but they are worried about getting wrinkled and being unattractive,” said dermatology professor June Robinson. “The fear of looking horrible trumped everything else.”
Girls Aloud singer Nicola Roberts has campaigned to persuade women to avoid tanning salons because of the health dangers.
The research, by Northwestern University in Chicago, showed that warning so-called tanorexic women about the effects on their appearance caused a 35% drop in their tanning salon visits. The women, aged 18 to 22, received a booklet that highlighted how ultraviolet rays destroyed collagen in the skin.
Joel Hillhouse, community health professor at East Tennessee University who wrote the booklet, said: “Don’t focus on skin cancer. The message that will get young women’s attention is indoor tanning’s long-term effect on their appearance. That will wake them up and get them to think about this.”
The World Health Organization recently reclassified indoor tanning beds to its highest cancer risk category.
Source : mirror.co.uk
