Posts Tagged ‘skin problems’
Tanning salons need regulations
Another case of a minor being burned in an unmanned tanning salon made news today. This time, the child was 10 years old. Yes, there was a sign on the door saying “Strictly over 16s, only”. Whoever thought that would keep out younger kids have no understanding of a child’s mind.
A case earlier in the year involving a 14 year old highlighted the importance of supervision at these salons. However, the owners there had insisted that the salons were manned. This new case goes to show that either these people are paying lip service or they are completely unaware of what their employees do.
Children may hear horror stories, but they don’t listen until it’s happened to them. Sometimes, even that is not enough to change their behaviour. The same can be said of adults.
How many more injuries of this nature must we tolerate before we decide that enough is enough? If the tanning industry cannot ensure safety to children, then the government needs to step in and act. Salons should be manned and young children will need to prove that they are old enough to enter. Simply taking their word for it is not adequate. In addition, the employee needs to supervise use to prevent any burns to anyone.
It is a sad state of this society that we’ve created an image of tan as beautiful, to the extent that even a 10-year old wants a tan. Haven’t we learned from the stories of anorexic and bulimic children who try to be skinny as a result of the super-thin models? Now we’ll have horror stories of children being badly burned and developing serious skin problems.
Will tanning go out of style?
We are living in a tan-obsessed world. I would certainly welcome it when pale comes back into fashion, although that is highly unlikely. Tanning is so prevalent, despite all the health risks, that unless a lot more Hollywood starlets start sporting a beautiful, but fair, complexion, it will never go out of fashion.
Yet, it seems some people tan as if it WAS going out of fashion. The fact that some people fell for the farce of tanning through their computer shows how desperate people are to get a tan. Now, there is a new injectable drug, called Melanotan. Although this stuff is unlicensed in the UK, it is available, and people have taken advantage of it. Despite experts’ advice against use of the drug, due to its side effects and the fact that it is untested and unlicensed. They also worry that some people are reusing needles in order to inject themselves, which creates further problems. Now, they are urging retailers not to sell them. Yet, the product is available on the internet, so that all sales cannot be prevented.
Studies have shown that tanning can cause many skin problems, from cosmetic to cancerous, yet people do not seem to heed the warnings. They are constantly on the search for “safer” means to tan. But, there has not been any means that have been considered “safe”, yet people have not given up tanning for pleasure.
I cannot see what is so attractive in someone looking like a lobster, as a prelude to a beautiful tan. Or, those who tan so often in the tanning beds that they no longer look like their own race. Not everyone is attractive in dark skin.
