Indoor tanning may officially be a cosmetic business in the United States. But more and more UV tanning clients are coming to tanning businesses for therapeutic reasons, according to a SmartTan.com poll conducted in August.

According to the poll, 90 percent of tanning businesses report having more tanning clients whose primary reason for tanning is therapeutic than they did two years ago. The poll is not scientific, but is highly directional.

“Indoor tanning’s roots are therapeutic — the European sunbed industry spawned in sunlight-deprived areas,” Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. “And while North American salons follow a cosmetic protocol, there’s no denying that many clients turn to sunbeds because they perceive therapeutic results by following the cosmetic regimen.”

Anti-tanning “Sun Scare” lobbyists have continued to suggest that there are no therapeutic effects from sunbed usage. “The equipment was invented to deliver therapeutic effects,” Levy said. “And dermatologists do use virtually identical sunbeds to treat cosmetic skin conditions in their offices at 20 times the session price.”