Mar 06, 2014 04:17 AM EST By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

A new University of North Carolina study found that young women are now using more tanning beds despite the health risks that come with it.

For the study, the researchers surveyed college sorority members as they were more likely to use tanning beds.

"We reached out to this population not only because we thought they might be tanning bed users, but also because young people are at the greatest risk of developing skin cancer as a result of tanning indoors," said Seth M. Noar, PhD, of the UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication in a press release.

Researchers working at the Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center said that women were attracted to indoor tanning as the beds improved their appearance, reduced stress and helped them relax. Indoor tanning made them feel good about themselves.

Of the analyzed participants, 45 percent used tanning beds in their lifetime and 30 percent of them used it once in the previous year. Most of the participants started tanning indoors in their teens despite being aware of the health dangers involved.

Noar said that using indoor tanning before the age of 35 increases the risk of developing melanoma by 75 percent.

Although cancers can be treated when detected early, the prognosis worsens when it spreads to other parts of the body. In 2012 between 3,900 and 8,800 Americans died of skin cancer. Every year, more than 3.5 million in over two million people are diagnosed with skin cancer, according to skin cancer.org.

Tanning beds were introduced in the late 1970s and have since grown into a huge industry earning about $2.6 billion a year. According to Indoor Tanning Report Card, the number of tanning parlors in the United States is higher than the number of Starbucks or McDonalds in a city.

The researchers suggested that the health campaigns should be more directed towards high school audience as most of the tanning bed users start in their teens. Apart from just emphasizing on health risks, the campaigners can suggest alternatives like using self-tanning products that do not rely on UV rays.

 "Use of sunless tanning products instead of tanning beds could potentially address two key factors that came out of our study - appearance motivations to look tan and the convenience factor of getting a quick and easy tan," Noan said.

The findings are published in the JAMA Dermatology journal.

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