If you thought the most dangerous thing on TikTok was a teenager doing a dance in a supermarket, think again. It turns out tanning salons are currently using social media to tell young people that lying in a glowing purple coffin for eight minutes can cure the flu. Yes, really. While most of us use January to hide under a duvet and eat our body weight in toast, a staggering number of 18 to 24 year olds are heading to sunbeds to “boost their energy.”
Recent investigations have identified hundreds of adverts on TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook claiming that UV rays can treat mental health problems or even stimulate your thyroid to help you lose weight. If only melting fat were as easy as lying down in a warm box. Spoilers: it is not. The government has called these claims “irresponsible,” while NHS dermatologists are using words like “genuinely terrifying.”
The “Vitamin D” Myth
One in seven young people in the UK used a sunbed in the past year. That is double the average for everyone else. Even more worrying is that nearly a quarter of under 25s wrongly believe sunbeds actually reduce the risk of skin cancer.
Many users tell themselves they are just getting a bit of “Vitamin D” during the dark British winter. However, the NHS is quite firm on this. They say you should never use a sunbed for Vitamin D. You are much better off eating a balanced diet or just taking a cheap supplement. It is significantly less likely to turn your skin into old leather.
Facts vs. Filters
The World Health Organization (WHO) has put sunbeds in the highest cancer risk category. That puts your tan in the same club as smoking, asbestos, and alcohol.
- The Risk: Using a sunbed before you turn 35 increases your risk of melanoma by 59 percent.
- The Death Toll: Experts say sunbeds are responsible for about 100 deaths a year in the UK.
- The Surge: Skin cancer cases have risen by 250 percent since the early 1990s.
Tanning shops often claim the data is “outdated,” but the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is already busy banning ads that make these wild health claims. Some videos with thousands of likes even suggest that “doctors prescribe sunbeds” for depression and skin disorders. While hospitals do use light therapy for things like psoriasis, it involves precision tools and actual doctors, not a teenager on minimum wage at a local salon.
Selling a Tan, Not a Cure
The ASA is bringing in new rules this month to tell salons to stop playing doctor. The message is simple: do not claim sunbeds are safe, and do not claim they cure anything.
At the end of the day, a tan is just your skin screaming for help after being damaged by radiation. If you really want a winter glow, maybe just stick to the bottled stuff. It smells a bit like biscuits, and it might stain your bedsheets, but at least it won’t land you in a hospital ward.
Remember, looking like a bronzed god in February is not worth the risk of looking like a shrivelled prune by forty.
Related topic: Health
