Previous research has shown a link between tanning beds and melanoma, the rarest and deadliest form of skin cancer, and now there's more evidence of the health risks of indoor tanning. In a Yale study appearing in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, young adults who used indoor tanning had a 69 percent higher risk of developing a type of basal cell carcinoma (BCC).
Further study is needed to confirm the latest findings, but it's becoming clear that indoor tanning is an important public-health issue. Said one of the authors in a Medical News Today piece:
Importantly, indoor tanning is a behavior that individuals can change. In conjunction with the findings on melanoma, our results for BCC indicate that reducing indoor tanning could translate to a meaningful reduction in the incidence of these two types of skin cancer.
Previously: State Senator Ted Lieu weighs in on tanning-bed legislation, New law: No more tanning beds for California teens, A push to keep minors away from tanning beds and Intense, rapid sun tanning may increase skin cancer risk