Your view: tanning beds cannot be safe

I was appalled at the article last week on tips for tanning "safely."

I realize that, especially with spring break coming up, people want to look good. However, neither indoor nor outdoor tanning can ever be deemed safe. Tans are caused by harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun or tanning lamps, and if you have one you've sustained skin cell damage.

Tanning bed users are 74 percent more likely to develop melanoma, according to a recent FDA-approved study. That's not long-term users, either. One time will give you those risks. Long-term tanners (50 hours tanning) are more than 2.5 times as likely to develop melanoma.

The idea that The Plainsman would print an article that included coupon links for tanning without mentioning the risks is abhorrent.

The only safe tanning option is sunless tanning, which was just barely glossed over.

Tanning is a deadly habit, and to suggest that it can be undertaken safely is absurd and dangerous. I expected better than a paper who should have the best interests of the student body at hand, rather than the interests of local tanning salons.

Morgan Maynard

senior, aerospace engineering