DEADLY
TANS FOR TEENS

Topics: Addiction; Appearance; Beauty; Consequences; Coveting; Foolishness; Health; Human Nature; Popularity; Pride; Self-worth; Teens; Temptation; Vanity

References: 1 Samuel 16:7; Proverbs 11:22; 31:30; 1 Corinthians 6:19–20; Philippians 2:3; 1 Peter 3:3–4

An estimated 2.3 million teenagers go tanning at least once a year. That has helped indoor tanning become a $5 billion a year industry.

On their own, these numbers may not seem surprising or even noteworthy. But they become dangerous when you consider that since 1975, the occurrence of melanoma—the most lethal form of skin cancer—has doubled in the United States among women ages fifteen to twenty-nine.

“Skin cancer used to be something old people got,” said Dr. James Spencer, a clinical professor of dermatology at New York City’s Mount Sinai School of Medicine. “Now not a month goes by that I don’t see somebody in their twenties. That was unheard of ten years ago.”

The World Health Organization is also taking notice. It estimates that sixty thousand people die each year around the world because of excessive UV exposure and has urged youths under the age of eighteen to avoid indoor tanning.

But many experts fear that such warnings will not deter teens from tanning. Sabrina Hendershot, sixteen, says, “All the girls who are really tanned all through the year—they’re the popular girls. And guys are always complimenting girls on their tans.” Kylie-Ayn Kennedy, sixteen, who visits a tanning parlor several times each week, is also willing to take the risk. “Tanning may make my skin wrinkle a little bit earlier,” she says, “but I’m going to look good while I can.”

—Julie Rawe, “Why Teens Are Obsessed with Tanning,” Time (August 7, 2006)