People who seek a glamorous tan through sun lamps may double their risk of developing common types of skin cancer, according to a new study that found the risk was highest for those who start at a young age.
The study, appearing in the latest issue of Journal of the onal Cancer Institute，concluded that people who use tanning devices were 1.5 to 2.5 times more 1ikely to have common kinds of skin cancer than were people who did not use the devices.
The study confirmed what doctors have long suspectedthat sun lamp use increases the risk of basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers，said Margaret gas，first author of the study.
Either going to the tanning parlor，or getting an infrequent sunburn can seriously damage the skin，said s Spencer，vice chairman of the department of dermatology at Mount Hospital，but the exposure is worse for the skin in the long run.
Joseph ，vice president of the International Smart Tan Network，however，said occasional sunburn is a risk factor in all forms of skin cancer and intermittent sunburn is what the tanning industry is trying to stop.
In the study, Karagas and her colleagues interviewed 603 basal cell skin cancer patients and 293 with squamous cell skin talked to 540 control subjects, who did not have either type of skin cancer.
