Dermatologist, Dr. Sabra Sullivan, on the dangers of indoor tanning.

Dr. Sabra Sullivan is a Jackson area dermatologist who has been instrumental in the passage of a new Mississippi law that, when it takes effect July 1, will require anyone 17 or younger to get permission to use an indoor tanning bed. The law also requires a guardian to be present when anyone 13 or younger uses a tanning bed. Dr. Sullivan spoke with MPB's Karen Brown who asked why we need this law and what are the dangers of indoor tanning beds …

Dr. Sullivan: UV Radiation, even though we get it naturally, is a known carcinogen. The incidence of melanoma and other skin cancers is epidemic ... We know that almost all children or people who go to a tanning bed at one time or another receive a burn and we really think that this leads to the development of skin cancer later in life.

Karen: Are teenagers and children more vulnerable to the effects of these rays or is it that they don’t make as wise decisions as an adult might make?

Dr. Sullivan: They are more vulnerable. We know the one thing we can change in your risk for melanoma is the number of sunburns you receive before the age of 18. The amount of sunlight that you get before the age of 18 helps determine your risk for skin cancer later in life, particularly the melanoma type. You can’t change your family history, you can’t change the number of moles you have but you can change the number of times you’ve been overexposed to the sun and the number of burns you’ve had.

Karen: When you say “exposed to the sun,” that also means exposed to these rays used in tanning beds? It’s the same effect?

Dr. Sullivan: The same effect only it’s more concentrated in beds. One of the things tanning beds will say or people say to me is that they use the tanning beds so they don’t get burned outside later. It’s really not a safer way. If you’re getting enough sun to really turn dark, dark brown, then you’re damaging your skin. I always tell my patients, everybody wants to go outside; have a good time. You can do that. We’re all going to get sunlight in fact we all need a little bit of sunlight to make vitamin D and do other good things but you should do that naturally and with caution and not over tan. We’ve seen and I’ve seen children who have been in second grade taken to the tanning beds with their mothers. Teenagers just don’t have the same mindset usually that they may have at 25 as a mother or a father. It’s like smoking or drinking without having any parental control. It’s very easy to abuse the tanning beds to get the tan. There have even been described incidences now of tanning addiction that have been reported and written up in the literature. It’s just like anything else. We need moderation and particularly we need to because of the health concerns for developing cancer to at least know what our children are doing.

Karen: Do you advise against using tanning beds altogether or can they be safe in moderation?

Dr. Sullivan: I advise against using them altogether. I think this law is the beginning of when we first began to understand that tobacco was harmful to our health. The first step was to have a warning that says “tobacco may be harmful to your health and lead to cancer.” The tanning beds all have to display now a sign that says “These may increase your risk of cancer.” That’s played down. But if you’re going to get sun you should go outside and get it normally. People should not tan to look better. That’s a cosmetic thing. You can get spray tanners. You can get that natural look. But if you’re getting a tan from the tanning beds, you’re limiting the time you can be outside and not do harm to your body. And there’s an epidemic of skin cancer in our young people. I’m taking melanomas off of women in their twenties, thirties and forties. A lot of us in Dermatology think part of the epidemic we’re seeing, people having melanomas in their twenties, in their thirties and in their forties has to do with their tanning bed experience early on. Most dermatologists - I could tell you all of us to the hundredth percentile would say, “No, tanning beds are not safe. Do not go to the tanning bed.”