Kids Ask Dr. Lisa:
Are Tanning Booths Safe?

Aired on Lifetime Television
Sunday, April 22 and June 3, 2007
Show 410

Michaela Powell:

Every time we go out into the sun, my mom makes us dress like we're working on a nuclear reactor. I know the sun is bad for you, but look at me. I'm like the Ghost of Christmas Past. Don't you think that I could go to a tanning booth?

Dr. Lisa Thornton:

Sorry Michaela, tanning booths aren't safe either.  Most everyone has heard about the dangers of the sun.  But did you know that sunshine and tanning booths have different kinds of light, but both of them are equally dangerous? Both can cause skin cancer and can cause you to look old. Not older, old. So if you want to get a little color in your skin, you can use bronzers or tanning lotions, but talk to your parents about getting those first.