Heather Bedard, C.H.E.
Tanning beds increase your risk of skin cancer by exposing the skin to direct UVA (Ultraviolet A) rays. These rays can damage the DNA of the skin cells causing premature aging, wrinkling, and cancer.
A study on the use of tanning beds and skin cancer found that there was a dose dependent relationship between the use of tanning beds and increased risk of skin cancer.[1] This effect was found to be related to the use of tanning beds at an earlier age. Another systematic review and meta-analysis on cutaneous melanoma, found that the risk of developing melanoma increased by 1.8% for each subsequent use of a tanning bed in people younger than 35.[2] In other words, using a tanning bed between the ages of 25-35 can effectively double your risk of skin cancer.
UV exposure in a tanning bed can be 0.3-1.2 times that which you’d get from the sun.[3] When combined with normal sun use, UVA exposure quickly approaches dangerous levels. Despite the increased risk of skin cancer, tanning beds do not raise your risk of internal cancers according to a large cohort study done in 2013.[4]
[1] Zhang M, Qureshi AA, Geller AC, Frazier L, Hunter DJ, Han J. Use of tanning beds and incidence of skin cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2012;30(14):1588-1593. doi:10.1200/JCO.2011.39.3652
[2] Boniol M, Autier P, Boyle P, Gandini S. Cutaneous melanoma attributable to sunbed use: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. 2012;345:e4757. Published 2012 Jul 24. doi:10.1136/bmj.e4757
[3] Miller SA, Hamilton SL, Wester UG, Cyr WH. An analysis of UVA emissions from sunlamps and the potential importance for melanoma. Photochem Photobiol. 1998;68(1):63-70
[4] Zhang M, Song F, Hunter DJ, Qureshi AA, Han J. Tanning bed use is not associated with internal cancer risk: evidence from a large cohort study. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2013;22(12):2425-2429. doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-13-0906