Tanning beds are a great way to start an argument! Tell someone you are using a tanning bed and they will tell you all about the health risks involved and why you should not use them. Of course you will then counter their point of view and you will tell them all about how it makes you feel and look better. But is anyone really right or wrong?

Well, as you probably all ready know, tanning beds are used to accelerate the speed with which you can get a tan.

And with today lifestyles tanning beds are not only popular for when the weather is bad or it is winter time, but also for people whose work schedules mean they do not get outdoors much. Also, there are people who can get outdoors, but, may not want to be lying in the sun all day long and just want to speed the whole process up by using a tanning bed.

And, this in my opinion is where the arguments start, because of the fact that you can speed up the whole process so intensely, that instead of lying in the sun all day you can get a tan in 10 minutes, so that can't be healthy, can it? Well before we debate that lets look at the usage of tanning beds.

Tanning beds are, as you probably well know, are used to mimic the effects of the sun by using a mix of ultra violet rays, and it is through this stimulation that you get a tan. But tanning beds can also be used for alternative reasons. Those for tanning beds claim that tanning beds can have health benefits, such as aiding the body in producing vitamin D, or that tanning may temporarily help dry out some forms of acne temporarily. It is also argued, that come winter time, using a tanning bed can assist in the treatment of SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), but like most things in life, this too is debatable. So we know it can be used for health benefits as well as giving a tan but what are the risks?

Now as you are probably aware, over exposure to the suns rays can be damaging, and in all fairness if you overexpose your self on a tanning bed, then of course that is going to be damaging too. You see, over exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, whether it is from the sun or a tanning bed, does increase your risks of skin cancer and premature aging. But even though studies have shown that people who used tanning beds before the age of 35, have a melanoma risk eight-fold higher than people who have never used them, what you also have to bear in mind is that if those same people were naturally sunbathing then that also is risky and probably just as potentially deadly because of the ultraviolet rays of the sun.

The conclusion to all of this, and it is just my personal opinion, is that yes there are risks to using a tanning bed. However, there are risks to going outside in the sun too even if it is just for a long walk( and I have actually been sunburnt whilst out walking when I did not even think it was too hot). Personally I think the biggest risks are when people take silly choices by lying in the sun for hours and hours on end every single day, or using a tanning bed for excessive times every single day.