The International Agency for Research against Cancer has shown that UV tanning booths present a health risk to users, as cigarette smoking or asbestos.

The dangers of tanning booths rapid UV is so large that these facilities were placed on the list of the most carcinogenic. Thus, the use of these cabins will increase the risk of developing cancer by 75%, especially among children and young adults.

It is the ultraviolet radiation which is bad for the skin, which means that sunbathing in the open air is just as dangerous. However, the intensity of radiation is much larger in the UV tanning booths and therefore more risky. Thus, a session of 20 min in the tanning machine correspond to exposure to a full day on the beach. The problem is also increased by the fact that an increasing number of UV cabin is accessible without supervision.

While the French agency for research against cancer had simply evoked the probabilities that these machines are carcinogenic, they have just been officially recognized by WHO as a source of development of melanoma.