Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Tanning Addiction

While everyone knows that things like drugs and alcohol can become addicting, very few know that actions can have similiar affects on the body. Wagner et al have found that many people are being what he has dubbed "ultraviolet light (UVL) tanning dependence". Researchers went poolside to ask sun bathers tweeked questions from an alchol dependence survey regaurding their tanning habits. They found that many people continue to sun bathe knowing it's dangers and that if UVL tanning dependence were listed in the DSM-IV (using similiar criteria to alcohol dependence) that 53% of those interviewed would be diagnosed. My question is, what will the tanning rehabs be like?

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/08/050827133811.htm

2 comments:

  1. This is a really interesting post. I have a few friends that would go tanning almost everyday. I did not understand it, at first, but I thought about it being an addiction. It does make sense, with the lights giving off warmth (which has an effect on positive emotions). Also, with societal standards of beauty being that tan is beautiful, it creates this image. This image could create an addiction, as it causes individuals to strive for this apparent beauty standard. It really is interesting to look at something like tanning, as an addiction.

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  2. I have been tanning quite a few times in my life, for special occasions like formals and weddings, but I absolutely HATED going. I don't know how anyone could get hooked on tanning. Or maybe it just wasn't really my thing to begin with. I wonder why being tan is such a big deal but then I realize that these people think they're "ugly" or "unattractive" when they are a NATURAL/LIGHTER skin tone in the WINTER! Come on people, looking like Snookie in the middle of January is NOT cool! I despise tanning and haven't been in quite some time, and honestly- I have no desire to go anytime soon, either!

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