Sitting by the sun, with her golden, bronze tan, smiling, Junior Christina Gordon, who uses tanning beds about 4 times a week says, “I know that they’re dangerous. I probably am going to get skin cancer, but we’re all gonna die anyways!”

Gordon says she uses the tanning beds because being tan makes her feel more confident and she is not naturally tan. The process is relaxing and comforting.

Many people of all ages, teenage girls especially, use indoor tanning beds on the regular, some even all year round. This act was made against the law because sun (and UV) exposure in childhood and the teenage years can be very damaging, policymakers in many states are regulating minors’ use of tanning devices (like tanning beds).  California, Delaware, The District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Vermont and Washington all have banned the use of tanning beds for all minors under 18. The question is, how bad really are tanning beds?

The worst and scariest factor of indoor tanning is the increasing risk of skin cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, basal and squamous cancers are cancers that are mostly found in areas exposed to the sun, such as the head, neck, and arms, but they also can be found in other places throughout the body. They are very common but are also usually treatable.

The use of tanning beds is linked to more than 419,000 cases of skin cancer each year in the U.S. And if you consider smoking bad for your health, the Foundation also states that more people develop skin cancer from tanning than they do lung cancer from smoking.

Most people who use tanning beds want a base tan before they hit the sun or just don’t want to be pasty white when the swimsuit weather hits and their skin shows. Some use the beds before a vacation to have a base tan so they do not burn as easily. The beds are being used for all different reasons, none with the intentions of getting cancer. Some do not even know how dangerous the use of them really is.

Junior Marisa Soffron refuses to use tanning beds. She knows how unhealthy they are and would not risk all of the factors that come with it just to have a nice tan.

“I would rather just get a spray tan or use a self-tanner.” Said Soffron. “It’s expensive to keep using the beds and they aren’t doing your body any good in the long run.” Soffron also says that being tan is great, but disagrees with Gordon and says that being tan is not that important and everyone should strive to live a healthy, pain-free, and long life, and having cancer is obviously no fun.

Sun fun tanning located in Salisbury ranges from $7-10 every time you use the tanning beds. A membership at Planet Fitness is originally $10 a month, excluding the use of tanning beds. To use the tanning beds you must get the ‘black card’ which increases your monthly pay to $20.

The use of tanning beds overall is a dangerous and risky act to be taking part of. There is a reason it has become illegal for minors and students should really look into what they are putting their bodies through before they decide to make this a part of their routine.

According to the American Cancer Society, “More than 3 in 10 white women aged 18 to 21 say they use indoor tanning, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And, more than 2 in 10 high school girls tan indoors…. Americans continue to go tanning even though it is proven to be linked to skin cancer. For young women, the allure of a tan appears to outweigh the negative health consequences, says Leah Ferrucci, Ph.D., a Yale University researcher and expert on the topic. ‘I think right now we still have overall a culture that rewards a tanned appearance. We see it among celebrities.’”