More than 860 tanning business owners this month have pledged to take part in Smart Tan’s “D-Feat Breast Cancer” campaign — a first-ever fundraising program that encourages tanning facility patrons to support the continuation of reserach into vitamin D’s connection with lower incidence of breast cancer.

The campaign — run in the month of May — asks tanning salon clients to contribute $1 to $5 that will go toward research and awareness efforts.

“Studies have already shown that women with higher vitamin D levels are 50-70 percent less likely to develop breast cancer,” Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. “This work needs to be continued and promoted.”

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among North American women. In 2008, 200,000 will be diagnosed with breast cancer, and 45,000 will die.

“We believe that most owners of indoor tanning businesses today are motivated by the fact that they are helping their clients prevent sunburns – something we all believe is beneficial and smart,” Levy said. “So it only makes sense that tanning facilities and their clients would want to step up to support research that could positively impact women’s lives more than just about any other area of research.”

Smart Tan will report on the results of the campaign at our annual conference at the ITA Indoor Tanning World Expo n Nashville in September. For information about the conference call Smart Tan at 800-652-3269.