American and British researchers concluded that there is no such thing as a safe tan. The findings of the study showed that exposure to UV radiation regardless if through sunbathing or indoor tanning beds, can lead to DNA harm and consequently to skin cancer.

Symptoms such as skin cancer and photoaging can be caused by both kinds of exposure. According to researchers, the most omnipresent cancer-causing agent is exposure to UV radiation and the most frequently organ affected by cancer is the skin.
 
Researcher Dorothy Bennett at St. George's, University of London, reached the conclusion that the “signals in the cells that induce sun tanning appear to be DNA damage." The DNA damage is the first step in the mutation in cells that commonly leads to cancer so a safe tan is a utopia.

The findings of the study were published in the October issue of Pigment Cell & Melanoma Research, the official journal of the International Federation of Pigment Cell Societies (IFPCS) and the Society for Melanoma Research.

Researchers involved in this study called for a ban on children using sun beds and on ads which claim sunbeds are safer than getting a tan on the beach. According to one study, the risk of melanoma (the most serious type of skin cancer) is 75% higher in people who use sunbeds and are under 35.

Skin cancer is one of the most common types of this disease and melanoma is fatal in most cases if not discovered and treated in time. However, the “good news” is that the UV exposure is also the most avoidable cancer-causing agent.