Exposing skin to sunlight can lead to skin cancer: A myth or fact?

If this is a fact, then half of India's population, will have skin cancer. This is once again a myth created by the western scientists. In India, lot of men go bare in the top. Labourers never wear a upper garment when they work in the hot sun and in summer, most of the men are top less, when they are in the house.

This being the case, why do people spend so much time tanning their skin? first off yes it is very true...and to answer the above question..I guess some of us are just foolish...I LOVE to tan in the summertime and dont wear sunscreen but tanning oil instead....sure I put myself at risk but I guess its not important to me or something...just like smoking causes lung cancer..and I smoke like a chimney *sp* and have for 30 yrs...

Exposure to sunlight didn't used to be so dangerous. According to studies, it's just the hole in the ozone layer that made sunlight become so dangerous. If sunlight really was so dangerous in the beginning then our species wouldn't have thrived on the planet in the first place. In short, it's our own fault that sunlight is now killing us. The reason that people are getting cancer is because of the UV rays from the sun, and the amount of UV rays that people are getting exposed to is increasing because of the continuous damage of the ozone layer.

It's definitely not good to continually expose one's skin to harsh sunlight as it might lead skin cancer as you have rightly put it.But as long as people feel that a tan enables one to stand out in a crowd people will opt for it.Other than being a fashion statement excessive exposure to sunlight has no beneficial effects.

ya what ever u said is somewhat right and somewhat wrong. the right thing is exposing ur self to sun is a bit harmful to u but the wrong thing skin cancer, if suppose we get skin cancer just because of exposing to sunlight then each and every one of this world would be suffering from skin cancer. my advice is just be cautious while going out in sunlight and apply suncream which is the beset option

yes it has been proved that exposing to direct sunlight can lead to skin cancer, however, this is not often, tans let you get a shining look and they wud not do it often, cause if the sun is at a high temperature ,it can lead to sun burns and prolonged exposure does have problems, talking bout cancer its caused due to the exposure of the skin to the uv rays present in the sunlight, ppl usually use creams but are still affected due to it, because of its ineffectiveness,evening hours during the sunset is said to be the time when most of the uv rays are emitted....

suchi60, I feel that one way or another you will still have people tanning whether skin cancer existed or not. There are just many reasons for people to go for sun tanning and one of it being personal preference. Rather than have the normal skin tones, some people just prefer the dark bronze tan. Now with the sun beds being responsible for the rise in skin cancers, I suppose more people will take to the tropics for a tan. Also, people from temperate countries will prefer to have the hot and humid sun of the tropics as winter is just too miserable and pathetic to them. Tanning actually is not harmful if the person doing it is cautious and health wary. Overdoing and excessive indulgence will be life threatening and not forgetting torturous here. In life, moderation is everything we should be going for and that will include our sun tannings.

Sunlight has both pros and cons. It is full of vitamins that we need, and most of us enjoy the way we look with anice sun-tan. On the down side, too much of a good thing is never a good thing and too much exposure to sunlight has been known to cause skin damage, including premature aging and skin cancer.

Its when you are out there trying to tan I think that does that. You need sunlight because its the best source of vitamin D but in small doses I guess

Actually it's not the sun tanning that caused the skin cancer.Century ago,sunlight is very good to out skin,our skin benefited a lot from being exposed to sunlight.But due to the damaged ozone layer.global warming,the ultra violet rays now causes damage to our skin. This the result of inhuman things,this is all becoz of this too much technologies and too much intelligence of human that resulted with damaging the nature,and we humans were suffering it now.

I really think there is more to the story than this. Think about it a minute. Many of our ancestors were out tending the fields from sunup to sundown. Seems to me, there would have been a tremendous amount of skin cancer back then because of this. But, I don't remember ever hearing about these cases....ever!! Meanwhile, our ozone layer is much thinner, and isn't as protective, many of us are smearing a bunch of crap on our skin with absolutely no idea of the toxins in the stuff or the effect it has on their health. My bet is on the depleted ozone and toxic crap! I don't invite problems by laying out in the sun seeking the perfect tan, but I also don't invite a problems by using the toxic crap either...