Indoor tanning is growing rapidly in the United States.  About one million people will tan every day. Many people argue that tanning is dangerous, while others seem to ignore these dangers. 

            Morningside had a tanning salon ten minutes away from campus. “I like that it is so close, because it doesn’t take very long to get there, tan, and come back,” said Ashley McConnell.

            Almost 70 percent of those who go tanning are Caucasian woman from 16 to 29 years old. McConnell was not surprised by this, “White girls want to look tan, I know I like to look good and being tan helps me with that.”

            One of the dangers of tanning is the connection to skin cancer. The UV light in tanning beds can also cause skin aging and eye damage.

            Stasia Ott commented, “Tanning cost so much money, and I don’t want to ruin my skin and have wrinkles is the future.”

            Although tanning can be dangerous, there are some positives. A local tanning store owner said, “I get a lot of younger woman who are still in their teens go tanning to help with acne. Also, in the winter people get depressed when the sun is gone, and they go tanning to cure their depression.”

            President Obama recently put a ten percent tax on tanning. The tanning store owner said she was a little worried the tax would affect her business, but so far there had been no impact.

            McConnell said, “I know that tanning is expensive, so I save up all summer and have the money to spend in the winter. I have to tan, and the ten percent tax pissed me off, but it doesn’t make me want to stop.”

            The year of 2010 is estimated to bring 2.6 billion dollars in revenue. “I am not surprised by this number. When you have T.V. shows like the Jersey Shore and their G.T.L., I think it influences people to go tanning in order to look good,” comments Ott.

            The tanning store owner stated, “The tanning beds are not the only option, we also have spray tanning that has no health effects.”

            McConnell says she is worried about the long term effects of tanning, but right now she is still young and can’t worry about the future too much.

            The warnings about tanning are out there, now it’s a matter of people listening to them.