A popular natural lifestyle blogger has ridiculed California\u2019s recent legislative ban of indoor tanning for those under 18 years of age, asking, \u201cWhat’s next, shutting down the beaches on sunny days?\u201d<\/p>\n
John Durant, whose \u201cHunter-Gatherer\u201d blog promotes common sense lifestyle practices based on human design, slammed California legislators for ignoring natural evolution and making a politically motivated decision rather than scientifically valid policy.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s far from clear that tanning bed usage is a primary driver in the rise in melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer,\u201d Durant writes, pointing out that California Sen. Ted Lieu mis-stated research findings to promote his bill. Durant pointed to one study suggesting tanning beds increased melanoma risk by 74 percent (a result that didn\u2019t compensate for confounding information). Of that paper Durant says, \u201cThis 74% higher risk from tanning beds was exceeded by blonde hair (117%) and dwarfed by red hair (253%), very fair skin (450%), and having moles (1,281%). That’s a huge flaw in this research \u2014 it doesn’t focus on the most important risk factors to help us understand the phenomenon of skin cancer, it is out to prove a point about a pet cause: tanning beds.\u201d<\/p>\n
Durant continued, \u201cAnother flaw is that few of these studies ever mention any of the benefits of sun or \u2014 heaven forbid \u2014 tanning salons. Shouldn’t California at least go through a cost-benefit analysis? Are there other types of cancer that might be decreasing with UV exposure? Maybe so, maybe not \u2014 but don’t you think we should look?\u201d<\/p>\n
On top of it all, Durant writes, \u201cAll this neglects the broader point that people should have the choice to live as they see fit, as long as they aren’t harming anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n