Ten times more intense than midday sunlight, the ultraviolet rays in tanning beds and booths increase users' chances of developing skin cancer by up to 75 percent, medical experts said, citing recent studies in the West.
Doctors' warnings to avoid tanning booths are proliferating amid their increasing popularity in gyms and health centers nationwide.
A "healthy" tanned complexion is gaining popularity in a society where pale skin is the traditional esthetic ideal, but where Western fads and notions of beauty are also popular, doctors said.
"Most tanning bulbs' ultraviolet-A [UVA] rays are of low intensity, allowing users to gradually cultivate pigment without getting sunburned," Tri-Service Hospital's chief dermatologist Chao Chao-ming (趙昭明) said.
"But," he said, "not getting sunburned doesn't mean that the skin hasn't been damaged. The danger lies in the user's lack of caution because he feels fine."
Even though the UVA rays in tanning booths may okay, a recent WHO study found that the rays are still on average many times more intense than those of the sun, Chao said, backed by Taipei dermatologist Sung Feng-yi (
Sung urged users to limit their tanning booth visits to once a week for a month at first and then just once every two months after that.
The US, meanwhile, recently warned minors to stay out of the booths altogether, citing a recent WHO report concluding that youths should not use tanning booths.
Frequenting tanning booths increases the chances of developing cancer by 75 percent, the WHO report said.
The US and Hong Kong are considering prohibiting operators from labeling their booths as "safe" or devoid of harmful rays.
Finland's Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority has also come out against the booths, saying no one should use them for more than five minutes, 10 times a year.
The Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection, however, said that as long as the bulbs in booths meet national safety standards, the government has no legal basis to require operators to warn users or place restrictions on who can use the booths or how often.
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