Graduation season is a busy time for high school seniors; shopping for just the right dress, hair and makeup appointments, and for some a few trips to the tanning salon.
Research has shown indoor tanning can increase the risk of developing skin cancers.
“Ultra-violet radiation is a known carcinogen. It does cause cancer, just like tobacco causes cancer,” said Kyra Moshtaghi Nya of the Canadian Cancer Society.
She runs a program called Tan Free Grad that encourages students to pledge not to use tanning beds in the lead up to their graduation parties.
The first school in Manitoba to sign on this year is Balmoral Hall.
"Lots of people don't do it on a regular basis but they look at grad as one of those times, it's just that one time, like, it doesn't matter. It won't really affect me,” said Grade 12 student Julia White.
She is one of the lead organizers at the school and was pleased that 42 of the 43 girls in her graduating class took the pledge (one student was absent that day).
"There's so many cancers that aren't preventable,” said White, “So when skin cancer is such a preventable cancer, then why not take part in raising awareness.”
She hopes students at other schools will follow the lead of Balmoral Hall and take the Tan Free Grad pledge.
