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Show Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010 Page 5 AggieLiS f Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.aggietownsquare.com New data sheds light on ni g dangers By STOREE POWELL features senior writer Glowing, bronze, sun-kissed and nonfluorescent. Nothing like a healthy tan, right? Wrong, according to Logan dermatologist Rob Young of Rocky Mountain Dermatology. Young said, "The FDA just recently categorized sunlamps at the same cancer causing level as smoking. Each year more studies are done that show a stronger correlation statistically between skin cancer and ultraviolet light and sunlamps." According to the FDA's tanning Web site, "The FDA wants consumers to know that UV radiation in tanning devices poses serious health risks. A recent report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization, concludes that tanning devices are more dangerous than previously thought." Why do so many young people think that they are immune to the effects of tanning? Young said, "the tanning salon industry is a huge multibillion-dollar industry that targets young people and along with the fact that our culture is such that people believe they look better and healthier with a tan and the fact that skin cancer doesn't show up for 30, 40 years after the damage has been done. These three things have contributed to the provable misconception young people have that tanning beds aren't cancer boxes." The Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology reported in May 2005 that the U.S. indoor tanning industry is a $3 billion per year enterprise. There are around 25,000 tanning salons, nationally. The majority of customers are young women, age 20 to 39. The provable misconception is that over the past 14 years Young has practiced in Logan, he has seen younger people having more and more cases of skin cancer, even "life threaten- LACIE RICH RELAXES while she works on her tan at a local tanning salon. The FDA recently categorized sunlamps on the same cancer-causing level as smoking. It is speculated that one in 63 children will have malignant melanoma in their lifetime. CATHERINE URIE photo ing." Nationally, Utah ranks consistently in the top 10 for skin cancer cases in young people, Young said. And it is no joke. In April 2005, the Associated Press reported that Utah was ranked fourth in the U.S. for skin cancer. More than 60 Utahns die annually every year from the skin cancer, according to the Utah Department of Health. The increase is undeniable. Young said, "Statistically, a child born in the year 1900 had approximately one in 1,500 chance of having malignant melanoma in their lifetime. The last numbers I saw were one in 63." Things that contribute to this statistic in Utah, Young said, are the "outdoor lifestyle, high altitude and the northern European genetic background." And tanning salons. The multibillion-dol- I See HEALTH, page 6 Giving classrooms to the world By KASEY VAN DYKE staff writer EFFECT INTERNATIONAL is working to improve the literacy in developing countries like India, where only 66 percent of adults can read and write. The organization is working to complete a school and library in Sasaram, India by April of 2010. photos courtesy of EFFECT INTERNATIONAL AlL7L/N721/NZI170C- OffEL/C-M- FErfff" resents... PlilIGIVRIMEM1171*IttL NIL=LACIPPTIER Only 66 percent of adults in India are literate According to the UNICEF Web site. Because of this statistic, Bushra Zaman, doctorate student in civil and environmental engineering, recently returned to her roots in Bihar, India. With her, she brought Casey Allred, junior in exercise science, and Rachael Senft, USU alumna in social work. They make up the directors of an organization with a focus on fighting poverty and giving the children of third-world countries better facilities and an opportunity to become educated. Their name: Effect International. Zaman, the director of Effect's operations in India, said the children from her home were the inspiration for the project. "I wanted to do something for the children in my state because I know they are very poor," she said. "These children, either they don't go to school and those who do go to government schools and they don't attend classes because there aren't teachers there." The Government of Bihar Web site says only 47.53 percent of the population of Bihar is literate, making Bihar the most illiterate state in India. Not only is it the most illiterate, it's also the poorest and, currently, the primary focus of Effect International's efforts. Zaman recognizes this and admits her state's inadequacies. "It's the most backward state in India," she said. The vision statement of Effect International states that it is working to break the "socioeconomic hierarchy" in underdeveloped countries, where education is reserved for the "elite, privileged and prosperous individuals." So far, the organization has set a date of completion for a school and begun to build a library. Come April 2010, 115 children in Sasaram, India, will have a new school and an opportunity to receive an education. While visiting Nepal, India, Allred, director of Effect International, and Senft, vice director, noticed a shortage of books in the libraries. This became the catalyst that led to a future book drive, planned and organized by the USU sister of Effect International, the USU Effect Club. Tyson Stevens, president of the USU Effect Club and senior in psychology, said the goal is to get everyone involved. I See BOOKS, page 8 Romantic Helicopter Tours ncluding: • Romantic Helicopter Right • Georgeous roses • $50 Gift certificate to Iron Gate Grill Luxury car transport between the Iron Gate Grill and the Airport [Blood Drive Mountain Ridge Helicopters hanger Logan Airport llam-4pm Sign up at MountainRidgeHeli.com or call 435-752-3828 Helicopter flights Feb 12th from 4pm to 9pm Reserve today! 435-752-3828 |