UV Radiation Listed as Known Carcinogen
UV Radiation Listed as Known Carcinogen
Tanning Industry Disputes Government Decree That Sun, Artificial Lights, Cause Skin Cancer
Dec. 30, 2002 -- It's now official: Ol' Sol ranks up there with tobacco, pollution, and other scientifically proven toxins as a bona-fide, government-decreed substance known to cause cancer. For the first time, broad spectrum ultraviolet radiation is listed as a "known" rather than a "probable" cause of cancer in humans.
"Broad spectrum ultraviolet radiation produced by the sun and artificial light sources" such as tanning beds and sun lamps has been added to the latest installment of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences' (NIEHS) bi-annual Report on Carcinogens (RoC), released Dec. 11 by the Department of Health and Human Services. It's one of four new entries added to a list of 228 substances known to cause cancer in humans.
Not that the news is surprising to most dermatologists, who have recommended for decades to reduce exposure to UV radiation by wearing sunscreen and limit time under sunlight and tanning booths to help prevent skin cancer. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S. More than 1 million new cases are diagnosed each year, and it is estimated that one American dies every hour from melanoma, the deadliest form, reports the American Academy of Dermatology.
"Numerous studies have shown time and time again that overexposure to ultraviolet radiation can lead to skin cancer," says dermatologist and academy president Fred F. Castrow II, MD, in a prepared statement. "This report should be a wake-up call to people who continue to tan -- through natural sunlight or artificial sources -- despite our repeated warnings."
But there are those who dispute the listing -- namely, those in the tanning industry.
"We don't wish to cheerlead for sun tanning or sun exposure, whether indoors or outdoors, because anything taken to excess is not good for you -- water and air, for that matter," says Michael Stepp, chief executive officer for Wolff System Technology, a supplier of lamps for indoor tanning beds. "But it's been quite a long season of negative reports on UV exposure where a lot of the benefits are overlooked or ignored." Those benefits include maintaining adequate amounts of vitamin D from sunlight, which is necessary for bone health.
UV Radiation Listed as Known Carcinogen
Tanning Industry Disputes Government Decree That Sun, Artificial Lights, Cause Skin Cancer
Dec. 30, 2002 -- It's now official: Ol' Sol ranks up there with tobacco, pollution, and other scientifically proven toxins as a bona-fide, government-decreed substance known to cause cancer. For the first time, broad spectrum ultraviolet radiation is listed as a "known" rather than a "probable" cause of cancer in humans.
"Broad spectrum ultraviolet radiation produced by the sun and artificial light sources" such as tanning beds and sun lamps has been added to the latest installment of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences' (NIEHS) bi-annual Report on Carcinogens (RoC), released Dec. 11 by the Department of Health and Human Services. It's one of four new entries added to a list of 228 substances known to cause cancer in humans.
Not that the news is surprising to most dermatologists, who have recommended for decades to reduce exposure to UV radiation by wearing sunscreen and limit time under sunlight and tanning booths to help prevent skin cancer. Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the U.S. More than 1 million new cases are diagnosed each year, and it is estimated that one American dies every hour from melanoma, the deadliest form, reports the American Academy of Dermatology.
"Numerous studies have shown time and time again that overexposure to ultraviolet radiation can lead to skin cancer," says dermatologist and academy president Fred F. Castrow II, MD, in a prepared statement. "This report should be a wake-up call to people who continue to tan -- through natural sunlight or artificial sources -- despite our repeated warnings."
But there are those who dispute the listing -- namely, those in the tanning industry.
"We don't wish to cheerlead for sun tanning or sun exposure, whether indoors or outdoors, because anything taken to excess is not good for you -- water and air, for that matter," says Michael Stepp, chief executive officer for Wolff System Technology, a supplier of lamps for indoor tanning beds. "But it's been quite a long season of negative reports on UV exposure where a lot of the benefits are overlooked or ignored." Those benefits include maintaining adequate amounts of vitamin D from sunlight, which is necessary for bone health.