A behavior survey published last week in a Journal of the American Medical Association dermatology journal is stirring up confusion, attempting to imply that high-school-aged teens who tan are more likely to engage in other risky behaviors such as binge drinking, unhealthy weight control, sex and drug use.

The survey-study asked high school teens what activities they engage in and is not capable of showing how any activity relates to another or would CAUSE teens to engage in any other activity – despite what many media reports about the study led readers to believe.

The study – Indoor Tanning Among High School Students in the United States, 2009 and 2011 – actually reported that 18 percent fewer teens tanned in 2011 than in 2009. According to the paper, 16 percent of students said they tanned in the 2009 survey, but only 13 percent reported indoor tanning in the 2011 survey.

The authors dismissed that as chance. We disagree: To dismiss an 18 percent reduction in numbers as ‘chance’ simply because it doesn’t fit your earlier hype that more and more teens are tanning in salons is arbitrary and unscientific. It calls into question the credibility of the authors and their predispositions on this topic.

The study was conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

You may be asked about this study in your local press. Our team has torn it apart. Here are the main points you may need to discuss this in your own community:

“My salon teaches sunburn prevention to people of all ages. This paper’s authors are promoting sun-abstinence. There are many in the medical community today who disagree with that and believe that sunburn prevention is the best approach. Again, that’s the balanced message we teach here.”

We will continue to report on this study on www.SmartTan.com and in member communications.

Click here to view the Reuters account of the study