Today, my panties are in a bunch, yup I said it they are in a bunch. As a matter of fact if I continue to watch local news coverage by news providers like Bay News 9 chances are I will just get more and more pissed off.
I sat down to have a quick lunch and after going through a pretty comical TBT today I snatched the remote control and turned on the TV figuring I would watch Bay News 9 and see if they had any decent weather coverage I might find interesting. While sitting at the table one of the girls sitting in the room said, “Look there’s that story about tanning I was telling you about!”
Earlier today I stopped by a few of our indoor tanning salons to drop off some product and see what was going on while Nate was out on a little vacation, the first associate that I came across mentioned a story that was on the news last night. Being in the indoor tanning industry and being a small business owner expose you to tons of annoying situations and information that could easily be deemed “aggravating”.
The story on the news last night was much like the news story I tuned in to watch on Bay News 9, it was a short little disturbing piece of information, and than of course “Big Al” the Bay News 9 guy has to really amp it up by blurting out some BIG SCARY WORDS that I have come to expect from Bay News 9 and Al to be honest.
The story that they were reporting on is much like any other news story or coverage you have ever heard about indoor tanning salons and using indoor tanning beds. You rarely hear anything positive in the news to begin with and when it comes to indoor tanning I can assure you, no one ever reports anything positive. Indoor tanning beds and tanning salons are the perfect scape goat when it comes to pointing the finger or placing blame on what could possibly cause skin cancer, it’s a joke.
I am a realist and just because some clown shoves a mouse into a microwave and starts screaming “cancer, cancer” hardly means that I should start reacting or even get bent about it, let’s face it EVERYTHING you like is bad for you or at least that’s what the masses would like you to believe. I did end up getting heated when I heard “Big Al” from Bay News 9 compare the effects of indoor tanning to mustard gas and arsenic, now keep in mind he isn’t the one who initially came up with those BIG SCARY WORDS, some clown in Europe did. All though Al did a great mainstream news reporter job of rrrrreeeaaaaalllllyyyyyy digging in when he said those words, good job Al.
After watching the news I ended up getting pissed off enough that I jumped on Twitter and sent Al (who was on at the time) a Twitter message on the Official Bay News 9 Twitter @BN9. I was really hoping that Al would at least respond to my question on Twitter, I honestly don’t expect him to change the way he reports the news, regardless of how much I can’t stand it. I never received a response from Al or anyone using the Bay News 9 Twitter.
I really ended up pissed off when I saw this article about cancer on Bay News 9 when I did a search for “tanning”, this article also came up which added to me being pissed off. Are people really this naive? Naive enough to believe that tanning beds are the leading cause of skin cancer world wide or better yet more dangerous than exposure to natural sunlight? Beyond ridiculous!
As if I haven’t already pointed out some of the basic things that should be considered at least 50x before, just recently I wrote an article in regards to how they wanted to change the legal tanning age limit and the reasons behind why. I’m now thinking I should probably jump in my car with a video camera and point out the TENS OF THOUSANDS of people walking around outside with no shirts, no sunblock, riding bikes, running and walking dogs. I can continue, but you get the point.
So is the reality that out of all the people that have skin cancer and that will get skin cancer will do so because they use indoor tanning beds and tanning booths? Well not really because they also mention in one of the articles that chimney sweepers are also at a very high risk, all though I can’t really say if that’s skin cancer or some other form of cancer. Is it ridiculous to think that there is a tremendous percentage of the population that does not tan indoors at all, meanwhile they just MIGHT still end up with skin cancer?
I was speaking with someone earlier today and I realized that by all accounts I will probably end up with some form of skin cancer, and everyone will be screaming how the indoor tanning giant dropped dead from skin cancer. No one will consider the fact that I rarely tan, actually I am like most indoor tanners who only tan 20x per year and doubt I even hit that total throughout the year.
I would have to challenge people to consider that every single day I jump in my car which is a convertible and I drive home in the blazing sun, sometimes to the point that my forehead is burnt for days and I have repeated this action for the last three plus years. Ummm but yeah if I get skin cancer it’s certainly going to be because I used a tanning bed before the age of 30 which increased my percentage of getting skin cancer by 75%, which at the end of the day means I might have been better off being exposed to arsenic or maybe doing some mustard gas shots.
I wonder if the skin cancer I am definitely going to get has nothing to do with the fact that I laid on my black tar roof as a kid and slapped on baby oil as my super protective sunscreen ZERO, and every teenage girl I use to hang out with back than did the same damn thing. Nope not a chance, has to be the tanning beds.
I’m curious if while considering their study or any study in regards to skin cancer and how people end up getting it, if someone looked into the potential damage done to school children on a daily basis during recess or gym class events that are outdoors. I know we have asked our kids 1,000 times if they offer any type of sunscreen at school or require them to put it on before going outdoors for extended periods of time, that answer is always NO. Not that it matters because again it MUST be the tanning bed.
I really think that the continued attack on the indoor tanning industry is way off point, I don’t doubt that uncontrolled indoor tanning at an excessive rate is dangerous and may very well be connected to causing skin cancer. Now read that line twice before you continue. Excellent, thank you. Anything at an excessive level or uncontrolled level could have some potential negative side effect, and that goes for the natural sun light as well. Will there soon be sun police or better yet will the mainstream news people start a frenzy causing people to sit inside in order to avoid the damage of over exposure to the suns rays? They did it with the economy and swine flu, so who knows.
I guess I can only hope that indoor tanning customers and individuals that enjoy tanning outdoors take an extra moment to consider the damages of over exposure when tanning indoors or out, find Safe Tanning Tips and please avoid over exposure to any type of UV rays. If you prefer to have a natural bronze tan there are safe alternatives to out there such as uvfree sunless tanning, airbrush tanning and some indoor tanning salons also provide mobile airbrush tanning services as well.
You can be tan and safe, be informed and don’t believe everything the news has to say. Remember ratings are KING!
P.s. I don’t consider ANY form of Cancer a joke, I lost two parents and countless relatives to cancer. I HATE CANCER!
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Thats what I call a rant! I bet it felt good to write that and get it all out. I have 0 respect for news casters these days…journalistic integrity is non existent. I work in the pharmaceutical industry, so I always shutter when they are reporting on “how expensive drugs are” or “shady marketing tactics” etc….and there are a ton of those stories as well….
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@Tycoon Blogger as good as this rant felt, I really hope it makes people think a little bit about what they see and hear. I also hope it causes people to consider getting informed, it’s your body and you should be informed about ALL of the tanning myths and cancer myths.
AMEN to that!!!
What an awesome rant!
And it’s so true, too. Most of the year my skin is Ivory — no joke! This, despite being multiracial. I also have Psoriasis that affects my eyebrows and is really unsightly. Psoriasis gets better when in contact with UV rays on a regular basis. It comes back, but it can stay gone by just laying in the sun (tanning!!!) regularly.
When I mentioned my plan to tan away my psoriasis, I got nothing but flack about “skin cancer.” Because skin cancer can come from tanning five minutes twice a week, right?
The bad burns I got as a kid did me more harm than the small amounts I would get from gradually tanning (think wounds, large blisters and ER visits).
I finally got so sick of the BS comments that I decided not to use tanning beds at all! What’s so stupid is that soo many people will THEN say to someone black that they don’t need sunscreen — ridiculous! Everyone needs sunscreen, whether you are Kohl black or Paper white.
When I move I will probably eventually tan in a private place or something to keep people off my back.
Unfortunately fear and tradgedy is what sells the news.. It’s a horrid world we live in, but if Big Al had been more responsible and thoughtful with his report, no one would have cared and it wouldn’t have gotten any real attention
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Unfortunately fear and tradgedy is what sells the news.. It’s a horrid world we live in, but if Big Al had been more responsible and thoughtful with his report, no one would have cared and it wouldn’t have gotten any real attention
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P.S. – Sorry, forgot to tell you great post!
@Lisa right on!!!
Griffin it is amazing to me how many skin issues that tanning can help, it’s kind of the same way that people will always say.. “You don’t have any tanners besides white people right?”
So not true, indoor tanning or even like you said a few minutes in the natural sunlight can help all kinds of skin issues, on ALL COLORS.
Who cares if it helps someone than they should be able to take advantage of what makes them feel better without harassment or feeling uncomfortable. I hope that you get some of those people off your back and you do something that makes you feel better about your self and helps your skin condition. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
@Hard Rocking South African you are so true, if it was the truth and put in simple terms it wouldn’t have caused the outrage that made me talk about it or that got it on the cover of the local paper today.
Did you know that Hot Dogs are now considered just as bad for you as having a cigarette? Thats another hysterical news blast I saw yesterday.
Great rant John… I could add on quite a few situations on here as well, but I will keep this post simple. A light skin tone does not go well with light. This is a simple logic. If your white you turn red, if your tan you turn brown. But like you mentioned, if you CONSISTENTLY expose yourself to anything (sun, alcohol, cigarettes, etc) their will be long term effects. We as consumers understand this logic and obviously we ignore the issue, so why do rejects like news anchors try to make it apparent to us day in day out? We are not cavemen, we KNOW the consequences that come with vain decisions. We only live once and we choose our destinies and what we endure throughout these desitinies is our CHOICE!
By the way John, great examples to portray on “reasons why” it must be the tanning salon’s fault. You really dug deep into this issue lol.
In regards to the hot dog comment… John it actually is true about the hot dogs being as bad as a cigarette. I hate to be a follower, but every hot dog consumed consumes 5 minutes of a person’s life because of the health hazards endured with eating one. I guess it does not help the way a hot dog is produced, but we won’t go into detail about that for the sole purpose that a lot of people love their hot dogs. Perhaps try a turkey dog, a much better choice
PS- I really feel bad for the people who participate in the hot dog eating contests lol. Joey chestnut and kobayashi really are really wracking up the minutes they lose with all those contests and yearly warm-ups.
What’s up dude. What a rant. I love it when you just go off. I saw that stupid arsenic article here in Cleveland too. I thought of you immediately and imagined you just flipping out and tossing chairs or something.
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@The Constant Complainer haha would you like me to tweet a picture of the chair that I broke or maybe post it instead? Wow you know me way too well, it was a training room chair btw.
@Brendan you know bro your exactly right, now in regards to Hot Dogs the bottom line is people enjoy eating them and regardless if it kills you or better yet “COULD” kill you honestly doesn’t matter.
I guess I just don’t understand what the real goal is here in a “Free Country”, you can’t smoke weed, you can’t tan under the age of 18 in Ohio but you can drive and fight in a war, and the lists just go on and on.
If I like Hot Dogs and I want to lay in a tanning bed while I eat them, smoking weed and drinking beer that should be my choice. NOT THAT I WOULD EVER RECOMMEND ANYONE EVER DOING THAT!
I have been asking Tanners what they think of the news, the answer is always that the news reports a bunch of crap so thats a plus.
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I definitely was thinking about you when i heard that story in NJ.
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Funny how you are saying that tanning salons don’t contribute to cancer, yet skin cancer in women doubled and in men it stayed the same. Don’t see to many men going in your tanning salon and laying their balls on the tanning bed to get better color. Thinks that make you go hmmmmm…
Tanning is horrible for you. Just because you make money on it, doesn’t make it good for people.
@Me!! No it’s funny how you think tanning beds cause cancer, and guns kill people too right?
Or perhaps, and just MAAAAYBE consider the fact that people make poor decisions and over due it, and for the record that would be INDOORS OR OUTDOORS.
As for people not laying their balls on a tanning bed, thats a pretty cute assumption. However when you want to hear the real percentages of men that DO TAN get your asking shoes on and ask instead of assuming and blurting info that couldn’t be any less correct.
In regards to your skin cancer facts and in doubling, you keep looking at the shallow facts and pick up on the things that make you feel good about your views on the matter. Please take note to how your the ONLY one here that has that outlook. Things that make you go hmmm..
Oh and P.s, I don’t make money from tanning, just another assumption on your part that shows how uninformed your information is. Thank you for commenting though and please be sure to grab some Sunblock 1000 when you step outside, because as much as you don’t want to consider that as being a concern…. IT IS.
Ok let’s relax here. The news and media aren’t just saying this crap. Scientists did the research and the facts are simply what they found. So in general the media simply regurgitated what the scientists fund after the results from the study.
Now who’s not to say the same people tested have been using the flicking microwave for 10 or 15 years. So here we are blaming the tanning beds yet we use micro frequency micro electro waves to heat our food wtf…
I don’t tan so I don’t care… All I know is john’s business and life can be affected by this so if there going to be releasing shit like this they have to back it up hardcore.
Sorry to hear about this shit john; hope your business isn’t affected.
P.S. and your sidebar pics
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@Brian in reality the tanning industry is constantly under attack, I am ok with that it’s part of life and being in business.
The part that makes me crazy is the part where people like @Me!! (not me but someone who commented with Me!!.. creative) are so quick to blame one thing and miss out on the reality that we are subject to all kinds of cancer causing agents every day.
As a matter of fact read the pretty label on the deoderant you use, it has parabens in it, parabens have been known to cause cancer directly. Why do you think there is such a move to “paraben free”?
The world needs more responsible realists as opposed to band wagon jumping panic freaks, like media didnt cause Swine Flu to be such a topic of panic, or the economic down turn. Realists realize that stuff, others don’t. ;) Thanks as always Brian for commenting.
It’s getting hostile around here lately, and I like it!
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when will people realize that tanning salons are a controlled environment…meaning we aren’t going to let you fry….and last time i checked (i have done WAAY too many speeches on tanning for college classes, whether they be debates or informative) it was burning that causes abnormal/cancerous cells, not the actual act of tanning itself. not to mention tanning is recommended by doctors to help treat seasonal affective disorder and some acne problems! if you are going to bash the tanning industry, atleast give all the facts people!!!!!!! :twisted:
@Calisun BINGO!
Im glad people mentioned some of the good side effects, Somethings i didnt see mentioned were how tanning increases Vitamin D in your body, and lets not forget the psychological side effects of how good you can feel after a good tan.
Let them have it John. I rarely watch TV anymore for just that reason. They have no real motivation to report real news about things that should concern everyone.
Keep in mind that most of the news stories are designed to make you feel afraid of something. This day it was just indoor tanning’s turn in the screws.
The populace is controlled with fear. It is definitely one of the best motivators around.
We need to figure out a way to make people afraid to NOT tan. Or better yet afraid to watch the “news.”
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