“There is no inherent, unique benefit. It is cosmetic.” — Dr. Richard Stanwick, the Vancouver Island health official who led the crusade to outlaw indoor tanning for those under 18 in the greater Victoria area in British Columbia, Canada last week, as quoted in a www.Canada.com article.

How can Stanwick say that without being challenged? While salons only advertise the cosmetic affect of sunbeds and that UVB makes vitamin D naturally, consider:

• Indoor tanning equipment was first developed in sunlight-deprived northern European countries specifically for the medical benefits of UV light as a controlled substitute for what nature intended: regular sun exposure. Humans evolved working and living outdoors., getting regular UV exposure. Indoor lifestyles today have taken that away from us.
• Independent Canadian research has shown that sunbed users have the highest vitamin D levels in a country where 90 percent of the population is vitamin D deficient.
• UV exposure from sunbeds is an established treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder, or “Winter Blues”, which is widespread in light-deprived Canada. Dr. Norman Rosenthal, the National Institutes of Health doctor who first coined the term “Seasonal Affective Disorder” has sent people to sunbeds to informally treat the condition. UV exposure to the skin regulates the production of endorphins in the body, which help fight S.A.D.
• Stanwick’s own agency, the Vancouver Island Health Authority, conducted a poll that showed that nearly one out of every four sunbed users in the Victoria area do so for therapeutic reasons — to improve mood, make vitamin D or to informally treat skin conditions.

The greater Victoria area last week passed a ban on indoor tanning for those under 18 after the Capital Region District Council dis-allowed any questions in a public hearing called to discuss the merits of the proposal. False testimony offered by health officials — including allegations that the tanning industry opposed regulations (the Canadian industry for 18 months has called for a slate of rules in each province) could not be challenged in the revised meeting format.