Tanning Beds: 1 in 3 White Women in U.S. Use Machines

Tanning still popular despite cancer risks.

A new report released by the Center of Disease Control and Prevention reveals that 1 in 3 white women in the U.S. use tanning beds.

The survey, which was based on over 5,000 Americans ages 18 to 29, details an increase in the amount of people using sunscreen; but only a third said they wore it consistently.

The study reveals how the warnings about skin cancer have failed to scare off those looking to make their skin a bit darker. The sunburn rate also rose to 50 percent in the country among those who previously said they had it.

"It's the sunburn you got when you were 18 that leads to the cancer you get when you're 40. That sunburn will come back to haunt you," warned Dr. Zoe Draelos, vice president of the American Academy of Dermatology.

About 6 percent of all adults said they had done indoor tanning in the previous year. The rates were much, much higher in young white women: About 32 percent of white women ages 18 to 21 had done indoor tanning, and nearly as many white women 22 to 25 did.

"It's not a question of whether tanning beds cause cancer anymore. We've been able to prove that," said Dr. Jerry Brewer, a Mayo Clinic dermatologist and researcher.

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