True faces show under UV light at Carlton

Students at Carlton Comprehensive High School went under the light to find out what condition their skin is in.

On Tuesday afternoon, students were invited to take a free ultraviolet (UV) test to examine their skin.

Representatives from the Canadian Cancer Society brought in the equipment as part of an initiative to stop students from tanning before major events like grad.

Cancer control co-ordinator Kelsey Mitchaluk said events like grad often will put pressure on a student to tan as part of preparing for the major event.

“They’re being advertised to, often by the tanning salons with sales or promotions going on this season,” she said.

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Mitchaluk said that tanning salons often use the myth that tanning beds are safer than tanning in the sun in a lot of their advertisements.

“They can expose the student to up to five times the radiation levels as the midday sun,” said Mitchaluk. “The tan-free grad initiative is teaching those students how to dispel those myths.”

Part of that initiative is to have students sign the tan-free grad pledge sheet, promising they will not tan at all in preparation for their upcoming graduation.

A student is selected from the list by random draw to win Beats by Dre headphones, and that student is expected to send in a picture of them at graduation to prove they didn’t tan.

Many students approached the small stand in the hallway with curiosity at lunchtime.

Kalin Izsik, 16, was surprised to discover her skin had been so negatively affected by the sun. She added that she never used to wear a lot of sunblock.

“We’ve got to protect our skin because the sun rays will affect it, and you need to use lipstick because it will make sure your lips don’t get burned, and also your cheeks are fragile,” said Izsik.

She said she doesn’t use tanning beds and she believes the recent law passed to ban teens from using tanning beds in the province is the right decision.

“It’s more harmful than helpful,” said Izsik.

And the consensus among many of the students seemed to be the same, like Carly Fraser, 17.

“I think it’s awesome,” said Fraser. “Skin cancer is deadly.”

One student who will be graduating this year, Douglas Neufeld, 18, said although he had never used a tanning bed, there was still some damage to his face.

“I was surprised that there was so much damage on, like, the bottom of my face,” said Neufeld. “I don’t spend lots of time out in the sun, probably only as much as a normal person does, so I didn’t think the limited amount would have much damage.”

Neufeld said he’s happy to see the province finally catching up with the rest of Canada on the law banning teens from using tanning beds.

Mitchaluk said that the Canadian Cancer Society sees this tanning ban as a positive move forward for the province.

“We know that melanoma is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers for young girls, and those numbers are on the rise,” “[Banning teens from tanning] is something we have been advocating for, for the past five years.”

The law banning teens from tanning will come into effect in the province this fall.

jbowler@panow.com

On Twitter: @journalistjim