Anti-Tanning Media Riled by AARC Melanoma Study

Yesterday, the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) held a press conference to discuss the findings of a study published in their Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention journal. You may have noticed that the research has drawn media attention at all levels, which means your customers and potential clients are seeing it as well.

The event was moderated by Tim Rebbeck, Ph.D., editor-in-chief of the journal, and professor of epidemiology at the University of Pennsylvania. The speakers included the lead study author (DeAnn Lazovich, Ph.D., associate professor of epidemiology and community health in the School of Public Health and Masonic Cancer Center at the University of Minnesota), a dermatologist (Allan Halpern, M.D., chief of the dermatology service at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center), and a behavior modification specialist (Electra Paskett, Ph.D., associate director for population sciences at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center – Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute).

For the most part, this was a heavy assault on indoor tanning. Some of the details – based on the study – that are being widely disseminated in mainstream media include:

• This is the largest study of its kind (approximately 2,300 U.S. subjects).

• The use of indoor tanning beds increases risk of melanoma between twofold and fourfold depending on the device and length of time indoor tanning is used.

• Specifically, the research claims those who had tanned indoors had a 74 percent increased risk of melanoma; if the devices emitted primarily UVA radiation, the risk was 4.4-fold.

• Risk increased along with greater years of use, number of sessions or total hours of use.

• Although the age at which tanning occurred was not as influential a factor as the researchers suspected, they did note that those who began tanning at a younger age tended to accumulate higher lifetime exposure amounts.

The conference speakers referenced IARC reports, as well as comparing their efforts to discourage indoor tanning to those of discouraging tobacco use or obesity.

Despite all the negative press, here are some positive takeaways I gleaned:

• Paskett, the behaviorist, said tanning doesn't have a "dependence" factor such as that of smoking and nicotine. That contradicts recent claims that tanning is an "addictive” behavior.

• A caller questioned the validity of the study’s test group, which was approx. 2,200 (pasty white) Minnesotans. The speakers also referenced previous UV exposure studies in Norway/Sweden, and the caller pointed out that it seemed inappropriate to reference that research or conduct a study of this nature on only those of Northern European descent and then make a blanket statement for all U.S. citizens. It stands to reason that a study population that better reflected reality (aka: a mix of skin types) would have brought much different results.

• Earlier this week, Smart Tan publicly questioned whether lead author Lazovich had a conflict of interest with this study, as she's been involved with previous anti-tanning efforts (see the detailed story here). She was questioned about this during the conference, and I'm still trying to decipher her response. She mentioned the prior study only involved "business practices." She also said that although the previous study was only funded by the National Institutes of Health, this new study did receive funding from the American Cancer Society.

• Mention was made that indoor tanning use is much more common among teenage girls and young women than boys or men. This supports the notion that the 10 percent tan tax can be questioned in terms of discrimination.

The Indoor Tanning Association released some additional information regarding their take on the study – as well as excellent talking points for salon owners. It’s imperative that we be well-versed on all the loopholes if an opportunity arises to address the media hype.

Click the link if you’d like to access a link to hear the AARC press conference.

–Karen

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