{"id":3701,"date":"2010-04-20T04:00:17","date_gmt":"2010-04-20T08:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/blog\/index.php\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\/"},"modified":"2010-04-20T04:00:17","modified_gmt":"2010-04-20T08:00:17","slug":"does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\/","title":{"rendered":"Does Reading The Paper Cause Cancer?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"2010-04-20<\/a>The Houston Chronicle produced a bylined article this week slamming indoor tanning with material that was obviously supplied to it by an anti-tanning group. Although Chronicle reporter Dale Robertson put his name on the piece, we think he got all his material from the MD Anderson Cancer Center or the American Cancer Society, both of whom he provided as sources in the story with links to their web sites.<\/p>\n

He didn\u2019t quote any authority on indoor tanning in the story. Just the anti-sun lobbyists.<\/p>\n

\u201cWriting a story slamming someone without trying to contact that source is a no-no in journalism \u2014 at least as I remember from my days as a reporter,\u201d Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure Robertson got a press release with all of the points in his story from an anti-sun lobbying group and didn\u2019t bother to get a second source for his story.\u201d<\/p>\n

Papers run press releases like that on occasion. But seldom with a staff byline.<\/p>\n

The Chronicle said:<\/strong> \u201c Tanning is the body’s way of protecting itself from the ravages of ultraviolet radiation from natural (sunshine) or artificial (tanning beds) sources. When our skin is assaulted by UV rays, which can wreak havoc with the DNA of the epidermis, a browning pigment called melanin is produced as enzymes attempt to repair damage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The facts:<\/strong> Wrong. \u201cRavages\u201d, \u201cassaulted\u201d and \u201cwreak havoc\u201d are words that make tanning sound like nitroglycerine instead of something your skin is naturally designed to do as part of the body\u2019s natural and intended interaction with UV light. If MDAnderson or any of the pharmaceutical companies that support American Cancer Society sold UV from sunshine (which is free) the message about UV from any source would not contain the hyperbolic adjectives that the Chronicle used in its story.<\/p>\n

The Chronicle said:<\/strong> \u201cThose who want to sell or rent you time in a tanning bed insist their product produces only the \u201charmless\u201d UVA ultraviolet radiation.\u201d<\/p>\n

The facts:<\/strong> Wrong. We don\u2019t say that \u2014 and if you had bothered to interview us for the story, you\u2019d know that. Indoor tanning delivers roughly the same mixture of UV light as noon-time sun exposure \u2014 both UVA and UVB. Indoor tanning facilities teach a balanced message, unlike the Chronicle which runs one-source stories.<\/p>\n

The Chronicle said:<\/strong> \u201cAs with those who smoke, not everyone is going to get cancer from UV rays, no matter the source. So it pretty much boils down to this: Do you feel lucky?”<\/p>\n

The facts:<\/strong> Both tanners and non-tanners have less than a 0.3 chance in 1,000 of succumbing to melanoma. A life-long smoker, on the other hand, has a 500 in 1,000 chance of dying from a smoking related disease. That\u2019s 1,667 times greater in comparison.<\/p>\n

And Our Counterpoint:<\/strong> Newsroom, heal thyself. Newspapers are printed using carcinogenic and toxic chemicals (1)<\/a> (2)<\/a><\/strong>. Does that mean \u201cRead The Houston Chronicle at your own risk?\u201d or would that be over-trumping the risks?<\/p>\n

To read the Chronicle story click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Houston Chronicle produced a bylined article this week slamming indoor tanning with material that was obviously supplied to it by an anti-tanning group. Although Chronicle reporter Dale Robertson put his name on the piece, we think he got all his material from the MD Anderson Cancer Center or the American Cancer Society, both of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3701","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nDoes Reading The Paper Cause Cancer? - Smart Tan News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Houston Chronicle produced a bylined article this week slamming indoor tanning with material that was obviously supplied to it by an anti-tanning group. Although Chronicle reporter Dale Robertson put his name on the piece, we think he got all his material from the MD Anderson Cancer Center or the American Cancer Society, both of whom he provided as sources in the story with links to their web sites. He didn\u2019t quote any authority on indoor tanning in the story. Just the anti-sun lobbyists. \u201cWriting a story slamming someone without trying to contact that source is a no-no in journalism \u2014 at least as I remember from my days as a reporter,\u201d Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure Robertson got a press release with all of the points in his story from an anti-sun lobbying group and didn\u2019t bother to get a second source for his story.\u201d Papers run press releases like that on occasion. But seldom with a staff byline. The Chronicle said: \u201c Tanning is the body's way of protecting itself from the ravages of ultraviolet radiation from natural (sunshine) or artificial (tanning beds) sources. When our skin is assaulted by UV rays, which can wreak havoc with the DNA of the epidermis, a browning pigment called melanin is produced as enzymes attempt to repair damage.\u201d The facts: Wrong. \u201cRavages\u201d, \u201cassaulted\u201d and \u201cwreak havoc\u201d are words that make tanning sound like nitroglycerine instead of something your skin is naturally designed to do as part of the body\u2019s natural and intended interaction with UV light. If MDAnderson or any of the pharmaceutical companies that support American Cancer Society sold UV from sunshine (which is free) the message about UV from any source would not contain the hyperbolic adjectives that the Chronicle used in its story. The Chronicle said: \u201cThose who want to sell or rent you time in a tanning bed insist their product produces only the \u201charmless\u201d UVA ultraviolet radiation.\u201d The facts: Wrong. We don\u2019t say that \u2014 and if you had bothered to interview us for the story, you\u2019d know that. Indoor tanning delivers roughly the same mixture of UV light as noon-time sun exposure \u2014 both UVA and UVB. Indoor tanning facilities teach a balanced message, unlike the Chronicle which runs one-source stories. The Chronicle said: \u201cAs with those who smoke, not everyone is going to get cancer from UV rays, no matter the source. So it pretty much boils down to this: Do you feel lucky?" The facts: Both tanners and non-tanners have less than a 0.3 chance in 1,000 of succumbing to melanoma. A life-long smoker, on the other hand, has a 500 in 1,000 chance of dying from a smoking related disease. That\u2019s 1,667 times greater in comparison. And Our Counterpoint: Newsroom, heal thyself. Newspapers are printed using carcinogenic and toxic chemicals (1) (2). Does that mean \u201cRead The Houston Chronicle at your own risk?\u201d or would that be over-trumping the risks? To read the Chronicle story click here.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Does Reading The Paper Cause Cancer? - Smart Tan News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Houston Chronicle produced a bylined article this week slamming indoor tanning with material that was obviously supplied to it by an anti-tanning group. Although Chronicle reporter Dale Robertson put his name on the piece, we think he got all his material from the MD Anderson Cancer Center or the American Cancer Society, both of whom he provided as sources in the story with links to their web sites. He didn\u2019t quote any authority on indoor tanning in the story. Just the anti-sun lobbyists. \u201cWriting a story slamming someone without trying to contact that source is a no-no in journalism \u2014 at least as I remember from my days as a reporter,\u201d Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure Robertson got a press release with all of the points in his story from an anti-sun lobbying group and didn\u2019t bother to get a second source for his story.\u201d Papers run press releases like that on occasion. But seldom with a staff byline. The Chronicle said: \u201c Tanning is the body's way of protecting itself from the ravages of ultraviolet radiation from natural (sunshine) or artificial (tanning beds) sources. When our skin is assaulted by UV rays, which can wreak havoc with the DNA of the epidermis, a browning pigment called melanin is produced as enzymes attempt to repair damage.\u201d The facts: Wrong. \u201cRavages\u201d, \u201cassaulted\u201d and \u201cwreak havoc\u201d are words that make tanning sound like nitroglycerine instead of something your skin is naturally designed to do as part of the body\u2019s natural and intended interaction with UV light. If MDAnderson or any of the pharmaceutical companies that support American Cancer Society sold UV from sunshine (which is free) the message about UV from any source would not contain the hyperbolic adjectives that the Chronicle used in its story. The Chronicle said: \u201cThose who want to sell or rent you time in a tanning bed insist their product produces only the \u201charmless\u201d UVA ultraviolet radiation.\u201d The facts: Wrong. We don\u2019t say that \u2014 and if you had bothered to interview us for the story, you\u2019d know that. Indoor tanning delivers roughly the same mixture of UV light as noon-time sun exposure \u2014 both UVA and UVB. Indoor tanning facilities teach a balanced message, unlike the Chronicle which runs one-source stories. The Chronicle said: \u201cAs with those who smoke, not everyone is going to get cancer from UV rays, no matter the source. So it pretty much boils down to this: Do you feel lucky?" The facts: Both tanners and non-tanners have less than a 0.3 chance in 1,000 of succumbing to melanoma. A life-long smoker, on the other hand, has a 500 in 1,000 chance of dying from a smoking related disease. That\u2019s 1,667 times greater in comparison. And Our Counterpoint: Newsroom, heal thyself. Newspapers are printed using carcinogenic and toxic chemicals (1) (2). Does that mean \u201cRead The Houston Chronicle at your own risk?\u201d or would that be over-trumping the risks? To read the Chronicle story click here.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Smart Tan News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SmartTan\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-04-20T08:00:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/2010-04-20-Newspaper-Cancer-copy.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"smarttan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SmartTan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@SmartTan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"smarttan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.smarttan.com\\\/index.php\\\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.smarttan.com\\\/index.php\\\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"smarttan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.smarttan.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4191f4b1131c0a37b4fd39f876771e7b\"},\"headline\":\"Does Reading The Paper Cause Cancer?\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-04-20T08:00:17+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.smarttan.com\\\/index.php\\\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":502,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.smarttan.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.smarttan.com\\\/index.php\\\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smarttan.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/04\\\/2010-04-20-Newspaper-Cancer-copy.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.smarttan.com\\\/index.php\\\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.smarttan.com\\\/index.php\\\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\\\/\",\"name\":\"Does Reading The Paper Cause Cancer? - Smart Tan News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.smarttan.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.smarttan.com\\\/index.php\\\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/news.smarttan.com\\\/index.php\\\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/smarttan.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/04\\\/2010-04-20-Newspaper-Cancer-copy.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-04-20T08:00:17+00:00\",\"description\":\"The Houston Chronicle produced a bylined article this week slamming indoor tanning with material that was obviously supplied to it by an anti-tanning group. Although Chronicle reporter Dale Robertson put his name on the piece, we think he got all his material from the MD Anderson Cancer Center or the American Cancer Society, both of whom he provided as sources in the story with links to their web sites. He didn\u2019t quote any authority on indoor tanning in the story. Just the anti-sun lobbyists. \u201cWriting a story slamming someone without trying to contact that source is a no-no in journalism \u2014 at least as I remember from my days as a reporter,\u201d Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure Robertson got a press release with all of the points in his story from an anti-sun lobbying group and didn\u2019t bother to get a second source for his story.\u201d Papers run press releases like that on occasion. But seldom with a staff byline. The Chronicle said: \u201c Tanning is the body's way of protecting itself from the ravages of ultraviolet radiation from natural (sunshine) or artificial (tanning beds) sources. When our skin is assaulted by UV rays, which can wreak havoc with the DNA of the epidermis, a browning pigment called melanin is produced as enzymes attempt to repair damage.\u201d The facts: Wrong. \u201cRavages\u201d, \u201cassaulted\u201d and \u201cwreak havoc\u201d are words that make tanning sound like nitroglycerine instead of something your skin is naturally designed to do as part of the body\u2019s natural and intended interaction with UV light. If MDAnderson or any of the pharmaceutical companies that support American Cancer Society sold UV from sunshine (which is free) the message about UV from any source would not contain the hyperbolic adjectives that the Chronicle used in its story. The Chronicle said: \u201cThose who want to sell or rent you time in a tanning bed insist their product produces only the \u201charmless\u201d UVA ultraviolet radiation.\u201d The facts: Wrong. We don\u2019t say that \u2014 and if you had bothered to interview us for the story, you\u2019d know that. Indoor tanning delivers roughly the same mixture of UV light as noon-time sun exposure \u2014 both UVA and UVB. Indoor tanning facilities teach a balanced message, unlike the Chronicle which runs one-source stories. The Chronicle said: \u201cAs with those who smoke, not everyone is going to get cancer from UV rays, no matter the source. So it pretty much boils down to this: Do you feel lucky?\\\" The facts: Both tanners and non-tanners have less than a 0.3 chance in 1,000 of succumbing to melanoma. A life-long smoker, on the other hand, has a 500 in 1,000 chance of dying from a smoking related disease. That\u2019s 1,667 times greater in comparison. And Our Counterpoint: Newsroom, heal thyself. Newspapers are printed using carcinogenic and toxic chemicals (1) (2). Does that mean \u201cRead The Houston Chronicle at your own risk?\u201d or would that be over-trumping the risks? 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Although Chronicle reporter Dale Robertson put his name on the piece, we think he got all his material from the MD Anderson Cancer Center or the American Cancer Society, both of whom he provided as sources in the story with links to their web sites. He didn\u2019t quote any authority on indoor tanning in the story. Just the anti-sun lobbyists. \u201cWriting a story slamming someone without trying to contact that source is a no-no in journalism \u2014 at least as I remember from my days as a reporter,\u201d Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure Robertson got a press release with all of the points in his story from an anti-sun lobbying group and didn\u2019t bother to get a second source for his story.\u201d Papers run press releases like that on occasion. But seldom with a staff byline. The Chronicle said: \u201c Tanning is the body's way of protecting itself from the ravages of ultraviolet radiation from natural (sunshine) or artificial (tanning beds) sources. When our skin is assaulted by UV rays, which can wreak havoc with the DNA of the epidermis, a browning pigment called melanin is produced as enzymes attempt to repair damage.\u201d The facts: Wrong. \u201cRavages\u201d, \u201cassaulted\u201d and \u201cwreak havoc\u201d are words that make tanning sound like nitroglycerine instead of something your skin is naturally designed to do as part of the body\u2019s natural and intended interaction with UV light. If MDAnderson or any of the pharmaceutical companies that support American Cancer Society sold UV from sunshine (which is free) the message about UV from any source would not contain the hyperbolic adjectives that the Chronicle used in its story. The Chronicle said: \u201cThose who want to sell or rent you time in a tanning bed insist their product produces only the \u201charmless\u201d UVA ultraviolet radiation.\u201d The facts: Wrong. We don\u2019t say that \u2014 and if you had bothered to interview us for the story, you\u2019d know that. Indoor tanning delivers roughly the same mixture of UV light as noon-time sun exposure \u2014 both UVA and UVB. Indoor tanning facilities teach a balanced message, unlike the Chronicle which runs one-source stories. The Chronicle said: \u201cAs with those who smoke, not everyone is going to get cancer from UV rays, no matter the source. So it pretty much boils down to this: Do you feel lucky?\" The facts: Both tanners and non-tanners have less than a 0.3 chance in 1,000 of succumbing to melanoma. A life-long smoker, on the other hand, has a 500 in 1,000 chance of dying from a smoking related disease. That\u2019s 1,667 times greater in comparison. And Our Counterpoint: Newsroom, heal thyself. Newspapers are printed using carcinogenic and toxic chemicals (1) (2). Does that mean \u201cRead The Houston Chronicle at your own risk?\u201d or would that be over-trumping the risks? To read the Chronicle story click here.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Does Reading The Paper Cause Cancer? - Smart Tan News","og_description":"The Houston Chronicle produced a bylined article this week slamming indoor tanning with material that was obviously supplied to it by an anti-tanning group. Although Chronicle reporter Dale Robertson put his name on the piece, we think he got all his material from the MD Anderson Cancer Center or the American Cancer Society, both of whom he provided as sources in the story with links to their web sites. He didn\u2019t quote any authority on indoor tanning in the story. Just the anti-sun lobbyists. \u201cWriting a story slamming someone without trying to contact that source is a no-no in journalism \u2014 at least as I remember from my days as a reporter,\u201d Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure Robertson got a press release with all of the points in his story from an anti-sun lobbying group and didn\u2019t bother to get a second source for his story.\u201d Papers run press releases like that on occasion. But seldom with a staff byline. The Chronicle said: \u201c Tanning is the body's way of protecting itself from the ravages of ultraviolet radiation from natural (sunshine) or artificial (tanning beds) sources. When our skin is assaulted by UV rays, which can wreak havoc with the DNA of the epidermis, a browning pigment called melanin is produced as enzymes attempt to repair damage.\u201d The facts: Wrong. \u201cRavages\u201d, \u201cassaulted\u201d and \u201cwreak havoc\u201d are words that make tanning sound like nitroglycerine instead of something your skin is naturally designed to do as part of the body\u2019s natural and intended interaction with UV light. If MDAnderson or any of the pharmaceutical companies that support American Cancer Society sold UV from sunshine (which is free) the message about UV from any source would not contain the hyperbolic adjectives that the Chronicle used in its story. The Chronicle said: \u201cThose who want to sell or rent you time in a tanning bed insist their product produces only the \u201charmless\u201d UVA ultraviolet radiation.\u201d The facts: Wrong. We don\u2019t say that \u2014 and if you had bothered to interview us for the story, you\u2019d know that. Indoor tanning delivers roughly the same mixture of UV light as noon-time sun exposure \u2014 both UVA and UVB. Indoor tanning facilities teach a balanced message, unlike the Chronicle which runs one-source stories. The Chronicle said: \u201cAs with those who smoke, not everyone is going to get cancer from UV rays, no matter the source. So it pretty much boils down to this: Do you feel lucky?\" The facts: Both tanners and non-tanners have less than a 0.3 chance in 1,000 of succumbing to melanoma. A life-long smoker, on the other hand, has a 500 in 1,000 chance of dying from a smoking related disease. That\u2019s 1,667 times greater in comparison. And Our Counterpoint: Newsroom, heal thyself. Newspapers are printed using carcinogenic and toxic chemicals (1) (2). Does that mean \u201cRead The Houston Chronicle at your own risk?\u201d or would that be over-trumping the risks? To read the Chronicle story click here.","og_url":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\/","og_site_name":"Smart Tan News","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SmartTan","article_published_time":"2010-04-20T08:00:17+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/2010-04-20-Newspaper-Cancer-copy.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"smarttan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SmartTan","twitter_site":"@SmartTan","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"smarttan","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\/"},"author":{"name":"smarttan","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4191f4b1131c0a37b4fd39f876771e7b"},"headline":"Does Reading The Paper Cause Cancer?","datePublished":"2010-04-20T08:00:17+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\/"},"wordCount":502,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/2010-04-20-Newspaper-Cancer-copy.jpg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\/","url":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\/","name":"Does Reading The Paper Cause Cancer? - Smart Tan News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news.smarttan.com\/index.php\/does-reading-the-paper-cause-cancer\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/smarttan.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/2010-04-20-Newspaper-Cancer-copy.jpg","datePublished":"2010-04-20T08:00:17+00:00","description":"The Houston Chronicle produced a bylined article this week slamming indoor tanning with material that was obviously supplied to it by an anti-tanning group. Although Chronicle reporter Dale Robertson put his name on the piece, we think he got all his material from the MD Anderson Cancer Center or the American Cancer Society, both of whom he provided as sources in the story with links to their web sites. He didn\u2019t quote any authority on indoor tanning in the story. Just the anti-sun lobbyists. \u201cWriting a story slamming someone without trying to contact that source is a no-no in journalism \u2014 at least as I remember from my days as a reporter,\u201d Smart Tan Vice President Joseph Levy said. \u201cI\u2019m pretty sure Robertson got a press release with all of the points in his story from an anti-sun lobbying group and didn\u2019t bother to get a second source for his story.\u201d Papers run press releases like that on occasion. But seldom with a staff byline. The Chronicle said: \u201c Tanning is the body's way of protecting itself from the ravages of ultraviolet radiation from natural (sunshine) or artificial (tanning beds) sources. When our skin is assaulted by UV rays, which can wreak havoc with the DNA of the epidermis, a browning pigment called melanin is produced as enzymes attempt to repair damage.\u201d The facts: Wrong. \u201cRavages\u201d, \u201cassaulted\u201d and \u201cwreak havoc\u201d are words that make tanning sound like nitroglycerine instead of something your skin is naturally designed to do as part of the body\u2019s natural and intended interaction with UV light. If MDAnderson or any of the pharmaceutical companies that support American Cancer Society sold UV from sunshine (which is free) the message about UV from any source would not contain the hyperbolic adjectives that the Chronicle used in its story. The Chronicle said: \u201cThose who want to sell or rent you time in a tanning bed insist their product produces only the \u201charmless\u201d UVA ultraviolet radiation.\u201d The facts: Wrong. We don\u2019t say that \u2014 and if you had bothered to interview us for the story, you\u2019d know that. Indoor tanning delivers roughly the same mixture of UV light as noon-time sun exposure \u2014 both UVA and UVB. Indoor tanning facilities teach a balanced message, unlike the Chronicle which runs one-source stories. The Chronicle said: \u201cAs with those who smoke, not everyone is going to get cancer from UV rays, no matter the source. So it pretty much boils down to this: Do you feel lucky?\" The facts: Both tanners and non-tanners have less than a 0.3 chance in 1,000 of succumbing to melanoma. A life-long smoker, on the other hand, has a 500 in 1,000 chance of dying from a smoking related disease. That\u2019s 1,667 times greater in comparison. And Our Counterpoint: Newsroom, heal thyself. Newspapers are printed using carcinogenic and toxic chemicals (1) (2). Does that mean \u201cRead The Houston Chronicle at your own risk?\u201d or would that be over-trumping the risks? 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