A population-based survey on tanning bed use in Germany

In 2007, a representative telephone survey was carried out among 1501 German residents aged 14 years and older.More than one fourth (28%) of the German population have used tanning beds at least once before in their lifetime. High-frequency tanning behaviour, i.e. using tanning beds more than 10 times per year, were recorded for 11%. Men and women aged 18 to 44 years and young women under the age of 18 used tanning beds more frequently (>10 times per year). Tanning bed use was positively related to appearance and lifestyle related beliefs as well as to the perception that tanned skin is healthy.This analysis indicates that tanning bed use is common in Germany. The positive relationships of appearance and health related beliefs with tanning bed use are of great concern. The results indicate underlying misconceptions about the positive effect of artificial UV radiation compared to natural UV radiation particular for high-frequency tanners. The data shows the importance as well as the limitations for risk communication in its current effort to inform effectively about the dangers of artificial UV radiation.The prevalence of indoor tanning and the use of commercial tanning facilities has rapidly increased and gained widespread popularity over the past decade. Among most frequent reasons suggested for this development are the public's perception that artificial tanning is safe or even healthy [1,2], preparation of the skin before sun exposure [3] and the desire to tan for appearance reasons [4,5]. However, long term exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation is known to cause skin cancer, photoaging, cataracts, and immunosuppression [6]. Moreover, several epidemiological studies reported a relationship between deliberate exposure to artificial UV radiation (sunbeds/sunlamps) and cutaneous malignant melanoma [3,7-11]. Despite numerous warnings from public health organizations and medical experts [12], previous studies found that many people are not aware or are ignoring the d