Study: Educational Booklet Used To Reduce Tanning Practices

A study, published in the Oct. 20 issue of Cancer suggests that educational literature can influence young women to avoid tanning indoors by changing their attitudes about tanning and promoting healthier alternatives for changing appearance.

Researchers included approximately 430 female university students aged 17 to 21 years in the study. Of those participants, 200 women received a booklet on the effects of indoor tanning, which offered guidelines emphasizing tanning abstinence and recommended healthier alternatives to improve appearance including exercise, choosing fashion that does not require a complimentary tan and using sunless-tanning products.

Researchers found that indoor tanning was reduced by approximately 35 percent in women who received the booklets compared with women who received no intervention.

Source: ScienceDaily.com, “Educational Materials Can Alter Young Women's Attitudes About Tanning, May Reduce Skin Cancer”