Lung cancers kill nearly 1.59 million people each year, according to data from World Health Organization. However, tanning beds could soon be the cause of more deaths than smoking. A study published in the specialized journal Jama Dermatology reports 10,000 cases of melanoma and 450,000 skin cancers per year in the United States, Europe and Australia. According to the authors of the study, “it is possible that the number of skin cancers induced by tanning beds will eventually exceed that of lung cancers in the years to come.”
The researchers analyzed 88 international studies published between 1992 and 2013 and involving 491,492 participants living in 16 different countries. They thus succeeded in calculating the risks of melanoma and skin cancer, but also of non-melanoma skin cancer.
One in two adults in Europe
Young people are said to be particularly at risk: 55% of students and 19.3% of adolescents have already been exposed to artificial tanning at least once in their life. Yet the risk of melanoma and skin cancer is higher in people who are exposed to artificial tanning early in life. Experts are concerned about the growing popularity of these cabins, which appeal to one in two people in Europe (41.6% of adults) and one in three worldwide (35.4% in the United States and Canada and 10.7% in Australia). They ask the health authorities to take serious measures to limit the damage.
