Experts warn against tanning beds after Kim Kardashian’s admission
Experts have warned against using an item – which is banned in Australia – the reality star revealed she keeps in her office in a recent video.
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Kim Kardashian has been slammed for revealing she uses a tanning bed – despite claiming the device is used to treat a painful skin condition.
The reality star turned fashion and beauty mogul recently admitted she has a solarium in her office in a video that has been slammed as “dangerous” and “concerning” by experts.
Tanning beds use ultraviolet (UV) radiation to tan the skin and can significantly increase your risk of developing melanoma, according to the Cancer Council.
Each year in Australia, over 40 melanoma related deaths and some 2500 new squamous cell carcinomas are attributed to solarium use.
Research also shows people who use solariums before the age of 35 increase their risk of developing melanoma by 59 per cent.
The 43-year-old quickly clapped back at critics, stating she only uses it when she has a “bad” psoriasis flare up, however the treatment isn’t cited as “safe” by relevant health authorities.
Melbourne pharmaceutical scientist Hannah Collingwood English told news.com.au solariums are often more “dangerous” than the midday sun due to the “intense” delivery of the UV radiation from the bulbs.
“You’re more likely to get skin cancer from solariums than you are to get lung cancer from smoking. How scary is that?” the SPF advocate, who has over 80,000 followers, said.
“Sun beds have been classed as a group 1 carcinogen to humans since 2009. They’re not the same as going in the sun everyday, they’re actually worse.
“Because you expose more of your body and the UV has been found to be up to six times more intense than the midday sun.”
In Australia, commercial solariums have been banned in every state since 2015, though private ownership and personal use of sun beds remain legal and unregulated, according to the Cancer Council.
However, in the US where Kim is based, the devices are only classed as “moderate risk” by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
This means no one under the age of 18 can use the devices, but they are still readily available, despite research showing a ban would prevent thousands of cases of melanoma and save millions of dollars in healthcare costs.
Even those with psoriasis, which Kim stated was the main reason she used her tanning bed, aren’t advised to use as a treatment in the US.
“Tanning beds in commercial salons emit mostly UVA light, not UVB,” the National Psoriasis Foundation (NPF) reports.
“The beneficial effect for psoriasis is attributed primarily to UVB light. NPF does not support the use of indoor tanning beds.”
Additionally, the NPF noted that the Food and Drug Administration, American Academy of Dermatology and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also recommend people avoid sun beds altogether – regardless of whether they have psoriasis.
“The ultraviolet radiation from tanning beds and sun lamps can damage the skin,” the National Psoriasis Foundation stated, “cause premature ageing, and increase the risk of skin cancer.”
Fans of the star also pointed out Khloe Kardashian had skin cancer in 2022, which she addressed on social media after being spotted with a bandage on her face.
“After noticing a small bump on my face and assuming it was something as minor as a zit, I decided to get it biopsied 7 months after realising it was not budging,” she said at the time.
The results revealed the then 38-year-old had melanoma, which prompted her to have the tumour removed from her face.
It was actually Khloe’s second experience with skin cancer, she explained, revealing she had also had a spot removed from her back at age 19.
Risk of melanoma is higher if one or more of your first-degree relatives, such as parents and siblings, has had melanoma.
Around 1 in 10 people with melanoma have a family history of the disease, making Kim’s admission even more alarming, particularly among fans who flooded her video.
“Weird you would have a tanning bed considering your sister has had melanoma twice,” one commented.
“Kim, you’re at risk of skin cancer already, please don’t use a sun bed,” someone else agreed.
Others weren’t as delicate with the topic, labelling the video – which was part of an office tour and included Kim showing off a wall of her magazine covers as well as her own personalised mannequin – a “disgrace” and “plain stupid”.
“Even if she uses it to treat her psoriasis, that’s not how she delivered it. She should know better than to glamorise something so dangerous,” one said.
“I thought her sister had skin cancer? If so, this is doubly stupid,” another scathed.
As one declared: “Nope, just nope. The risk is too high.”
“Do better Kim Kardashian,” one chipped in.
Miss Collingwood English also addressed the issue on TikTok where she explained melanoma is the “most aggressive and dangerous form of skin cancer”.
“Any tan is a sign of damage,” she said in the video.
“I don’t like to put ageing and skin cancer in the same conversation but the UV is responsible for most of the changes that happen to your skin over your lifetime.
“Whether that’s pores being more visible, fine lines, loss of volume … everything. Everything.”
Originally published as Experts warn against tanning beds after Kim Kardashian’s admission
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