by ANDREA FRENCH Staff Writer
As prom season approaches, more and more teens chose to go to a tanning bed and get that much wanted tan, with serious consequences. Even though there have been many studies showing that indoor tanning increases your risk significantly for caners such as Melanoma, teens ignore all warning signs and continue. “I have always felt that a tanned body looks so much more perfect. When you are planning on going to prom you need to look your best. If tanning indoors on a regular basis for prom is what is needed, than so be it. I want to look back on my prom pictures and say that I looked good, with my tan!” says an anonymous source. The Mayo Clinic Proceedings conducted a study and found the incidence of melanoma in young adults has soared. This rise is particularly prevalent in women from the ages of 18 to 39. Dermatologist Dr. Jerry Brewer says, “The number one thing- stop going to tanning beds.” A common reason why teens feel the need to go tanning is that “everybody’s doing it.” In a teen’s mind, just because everyone is doing it, that makes it okay. In the long run, you may be paying for that glowing tan that you had to have. “An artificial tan now is not worth cancer down the road. Cancer is not something that anyone wants, and if it is proven that tanning beds lead to cancer, then I will always stay away from those,” says an anonymous source. To add to the need to have a fake tan, many tanning salons are offering student discounts and two-for-one deals to lure in more self-tanners. The cost of tanning is enough to net the tanning salons a good profit, but they are also low enough that any teen can pay on their own. Not everyone is going to self-tan for prom and other events, but the majority of the teens will want that orange glow.