Tanning risks exposed by skin cancer rise

The JMU Journalism news team presents a selection of comments gathered on the streets of Liverpool during our exclusive 'tanned or natural' poll (January 19th to 25th, 2010):

"Girls who have too much of a tan just look fake, that is a major put off for me. A natural holiday tan looks nice but not to the extent that some people take it to."

"Although I think that having a tan can look nice, it is not worth the risk of skin cancer at all. Most people like to have a tan to try and impress someone, but my boyfriend prefers the natural look."

"It doesn't surprise me. There is a pressure to use sunbeds to fit in."

"There are more people than ever going abroad and on sunbeds, that's probably why."

"Beauty is what shines out of a person; pigmentation and skin shading has no bearing on what is reflected to the world. Tanning is done for the wrong reasons."

"I don't live in Spain, so it's not normal."

"Having a bit of colour makes people look healthier."

"Au natural. I don't like all the young girls looking so tanned when it's snowing outside!"

"Natural. When I'm even older I don't want to be as wrinkly as my mum."

"Easy Jet orange, ha! You can't beat abit of fake tan!"

"I prefer tanned... the more the better!"

"I like tanned skin on myself, but only fake tan or holiday tan... not orange! I'm not a sunbed fan."

“I use sunbeds the odd time to get rid of my spots. The statistics shock me but the thing is you never really think it will happen to you.”

"It's just nicer than being pale, but that's what I'm scared of. I knew it would probably bring skin issues but I never thought about a 94% increase in skin cancer. It makes you think twice, to be honest."

“I tan because it makes me feel more confident. I think if you get the balance right and don’t just rely on sunbeds for a tan, then you can’t do too much damage.”

“That [skin cancer statistic] doesn’t surprise me at all... there is a sunbed shop on every corner."

"I look like Casper the Ghost without a tan!"

"I'm not suprised there's so many getting skin cancer. They're always on them sunbeds now aren't they? It's all about looking attractive... they don't care about anything else."

"If you want an honest opinion, I think lads are more attracted to girls with a tan, and I'm more confident with one myself."

"The smell of false tan knocks me sick."

"I think a tan makes you look healthier."

"Depends on the person but some look nice with a tan, I think."

"Personally, I look ill if I've got no tan on or if I haven't been on the beds."

“I don’t like a lot of make-up and sunbeds shouldn’t be used. The figures don't surprise me in the least; people use sunbeds all year round.”

“Everyone would rather have tanned skin.”

“People look fluorescent. Neon orange glow is not an attractive look.”

“Orange isn’t natural. Skin is really leathery if they use a tanning bed. It really ages you.”

"If you can pull off natural then go for it but I prefer a tan because it makes me feel more confident but on other people I think natural is nicer. It’s a shocking increase but if you walk through Liverpool you can see why... everyone is orange!"

"The increase doesn't surprise me but it shocks me. On one hand it's an astonishing rise in skin cancer but in the society we live in, everybody is body conscious. Some feel that to have pale skin is something to hide and so they do this by darkening their skin on sunbeds."

"I am surprised at the increase but it is believable. The amount of sunbeds in Liverpool in unbelievable, there is one on every street and they are cheap."

"Fake tan always makes people look like they have been tangoed. Take the likes of Katie Price who is permanently tanned and orange, young girls look up to her as a role model and want to look like her. The message is that if you are tanned you are more attractive."

"Brunette and pale is the new blonde and tanned."

“I’m not surprised by the skin cancer percentage because there are loads of sunbed shops in Liverpool and girls just jump on the tanning bandwagon and it’s like a competition to see who looks the best with a tan. It’s becoming a fashion which is awful because its potentially damaging to their health.”

“Although tanned and natural skin tones are just as attractive as each other, some people suit a tan more than others, but there’s a fine line between tanned and tangerine.”

“The skin cancer figure does surprise me as I thought we were educating people to realise the dangers of the use of sunbeds. I also think a lot of women aspire to be like female celebrities as they tend to be tanned and women like to copy them.”

“No, I am not surprised because even men go on the sunbeds and everyone I know goes on the beds.”

“Natural looks authentic and you can see someone for what they actually are. We live in England, so I don’t want to see dodgy tans, that are totally fake and over the top.”

“Fake tanning products are bad for the skin. It looks stupid when it’s forced and blatantly fake. It looks nice when you go on holiday because it’s natural.”

"I'm not suprised [by the statistics]. You just need to look at the girls in Concert Square on a Saturday night to understand why it's so high."

"People should just accept themselves and stop trying to change everything. You are what you are."

"I'm not suprised by that [skin cancer statistics] at all, Liverpool is a very tanned place. Although it's higher than what I would have expected it to be.

"That's just what the style is in Liverpool."

“I was 14 when I started using them but when I think about it I was too young... that's why I stopped using them.”

“I don't think a change in law would make a difference, people are always going to do what they want to do.”

“Women my age who use sunbeds look about 20 years older then they are. They should ban them all together.”

“The older girls are realising the dangers but it's the young ones that want a tan and are using them. It makes them think they look better.”

"I use sunbeds about three times a week. The health risks are extremely clear and while they do worry me, they're easy to forget. In all honesty I think the change in law would stop me. I wouldn't think it would be worth the hassle to hunt down other ways to make myself brown. I think I'd try and find another method like fake tan."