Confirmed: Tanning Beds Cause Cancer

The ultraviolet light used in tanning beds (as with the sun's rays) has been shown to raise the risk of skin cancer, which can be deadly. But those who use the beds habitually ignore or accept the risks, which have not been clearly spelled out by the medical community.

Now the International Agency for Research on Cancer has raised their warning of tanning beds from "probably carcinogenic to humans" to "carcinogenic to humans." It's about time.

The group, which advises the World Health Organization, did a review of studies on the topic and concluded that the risk of melanoma, which is the most deadly form of skin cancer, is 75 percent higher in people who started using tanning beds regularly before age 30.

Tanning beds are a $5 billion-a-year industry in the United States, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation (that's up from an estimate of $2 billion in 2006). The tanning salon industry has in the past claimed the UV light is harmless and even healthy. One claim from proponents is that tanning prevents sunburn, thereby reducing the chance of skin cancer. That's total hooey.

Rather, tanorexia, as some call the habit, may be addictive, one small study found. And it is definitely bad for you.

In The Water Cooler, Imaginova's Editorial Director Robert Roy Britt looks at what people are talking about in the world of science and beyond. Find more in the archives and on Twitter.