CONTRIBUTED
The Your Skin Is In pledgecontest ran from January-April, 2014 in high schools and colleges across New England, educating teens and young adults about the dangers of tanning and the direct link between tanning beds and melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.
Young melanoma survivors traveled to schools to tell their stories of survival and to encourage teens to take the Tanning is Out pledge. Schools that registered for the Your Skin Is In contest were challenged with obtaining 70 percent participation by students signing the pledge.
Student leaders at each school led the awareness campaign by hanging posters throughout the school, taking pledges during assemblies and lunch hour, and acting as ambassadors by spreading the word about the dangers of tanning.
All participating schools that reached the minimum pledge number were entered into a drawing to win cash prizes that can be used toward their school, the prom, or other programming.
Deb Girard, MFNE’s Executive Director, praisedAnsoniaHigh School for committing to the Your Skin Is In program and learning the truth about tanning.
She said, “Teens want to believe that ‘it can’t happen to them,’ or that it’s safe to just get a ‘base tan’ before the prom or before spring break. The truth is that there is no safe tan – whether in a tanning booth or outside in the sun – tanning can lead to skin cancer.”
She adds, “2.5 million teens annually use tanning beds. Through Your Skin Is In we’ve been able to reach a quarter million students and we hope the message resonates throughout adulthood. By taking the Tanning is Out Pledge these students become empowered to take charge of their own health, and become advocates for safe skin-care.”
For any teens or young adults interested in learning more about the dangers of tanning, they can log onto mfne.org and watch a video entitled “Exposed” featuring young melanoma survivors explaining where they became “exposed” to melanoma and how it might have been avoided.
Individuals or schools interested in participating in the 2015 Your Skin Is Program can call 800 – 557-6352 or email yourskinisin@mfne.org.
The Facts about Teens & Tanning:
- The World Health Organization has determined that UV rays from tanning beds cause cancer.
- The increased risk of melanoma associated with early tanning bed use is 59% for people whose first exposure to artificial UV rays in a tanning bed occurred before age 35 years and that risk increased with the number of tanning bed sessions per year.
- 2.5 million teens use tanning booths each year including 35% of girls age 17 – many start as early as age 13.
- Melanoma is the second most common cancer in teens and young adults ages 15 – 29.
- It is not safe to tan in the sun or in a tanning booth. Using a tanning bed for 20 minutes is the same as spending 1 – 3 hours a day at the beach with no sun protection at all. Tanning beds put out 3 – 6 times the amount of radiation given off by the sun.
