Cancer report triggers tanning warning

With the incidence of skin cancer on the rise, the Canadian Cancer Society and cancer specialists in B.C. are warning people that a tanned body does not equal a healthy body.

A new study on cancer numbers shows that the incidence of skin cancer has doubled since the 1970's, and continues to get worse.

• LINK: Canadian cancer statistics

The experts say people should protect themselves by limiting their time in the sun, and by avoiding tanning studios.

Cancer specialist Dr. Jason Rivers is concerned about the logic being applied at many of the studios around the city where people are getting a so-called "base tan" to protect themselves in the sun.

"So I have to ask people why they would expose themselves to a known carcinogen to presumably protect themselves against the same carcinogen, sunlight," he says.

"Ultraviolet light is a known carcinogen. It's like saying, 'I'm going to stand in a room and inhale second-hand smoke, so that when I pick up my next pack of cigarettes, I won't get lung cancer.'"

• LINK: Canadian Cancer Society background on artificial tanning

Dr. Rivers says more and more women in their 20s are getting skin cancer, and that they deserve to know the facts.

The owner of one tanning studio in Vancouver says she doesn't talk about the risk of skin cancer to clients. But she does limit the time her customers spend in tanning booths.

• LINK: World Health Organization statement of use of sunbeds