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"I&amp;#039;ve always taken comfort in the fact that, for the most part, I haven&amp;#039;t developed any addictions or terribly bad habits, aside from 1) pizza and 2) gnawing at the skin on the inside of my cheeks (yes, mom, &amp;quot;cheek cancer&amp;quot;\u2014I know). But, there is something that, for as long as I can recall, I&amp;#039;ve loved with all my heart despite my total awareness that it&amp;#039;s not only doing me harm, it could possibly kill me one day: Tanning.  For me, a long day in the sun equals euphoria. I welcome\u2014and, admittedly, often long for\u2014the results: slightly pinked or browned skin combined with the physical drain and high that it brings. Raise your hand if you&amp;#039;re with me. While there&amp;#039;s always existed an underlying current of &amp;quot;disorder&amp;quot; related to over-tanning\u2014in high school and college, we jokingly called the pack of girls who frequented the tanning salons &amp;quot;Tanorexics&amp;quot;\u2014the condition has never really been confirmed a medical one, just a stupid one.  But prompted by the rise in new cases of skin cancers (3.5 million among Americans each year), dermatologists have began to wonder if that&amp;#039;s exactly what it is. In a new study published in The Skin Cancer Foundation Journal, two University of Washington professors, Dr Robin L. Hornung and Solmaz Poorsattar, say the &amp;quot;continued purposeful exposure to a known cancer-causing agent (read: same goes for tobacco) suggests that factors besides lack of knowledge are driving individuals to tan.&amp;quot;  The decidedly driving factor? Addiction or &amp;quot;a novel type of ultraviolet-light substance-related disorder.&amp;quot;  So, how do you know if it&amp;#039;s more than just a genuine love for sun-kissed cheek bones, relaxation and socialization?  In an older study, released five years ago and conducted by dermatologist Dr. Richard Wagner, a modified version of a test used to root out alcohol addiction was used on a big group of volunteer sunbathing addicts. These are the questions: Have you ever felt you needed to cut down on your tanning? Have people annoyed you by criticizing your tanning? Have you ever felt guilty about tanning? Have you ever felt you needed to tan first thing in the morning \u2014 as an eye opener? Upon answering the questions honestly, I felt reassured that my love for the sun, though perhaps extensive\u2014and by all means tissue-damaging\u2014wasn&amp;#039;t a full-fledged compulsion. Though, that wasn&amp;#039;t so for 26 percent of the beachgoers tested, who all met the criteria for addiction.  There have also been other studies, like one conducted by a Wake Forest professor, that suggest those addicted to tanning do in fact suffer withdrawal symptoms when not exposed to UV rays for a certain period of time. But, who knows? I suppose, in the end, all we really need to know is while, in small doses, sun exposure can be beneficial to your health, in excessive amounts, it can be fatal. Perhaps the &amp;quot;addiction&amp;quot; to tanning can be prevented by educating young children earlier than we have been about the real dangers of it, just as we do cigarettes and alcohol\u2014but, then again, I&amp;#039;m not sure I would have cared too much about the sun&amp;#039;s mean streak when I was younger and falling head-over-heels in love with it.  Luckily, there are also some pretty great sunless tanners out there for those who actually do tan for the shift in their appearance it creates. In fact, WomansDay.com recently reviewed a bunch. Check out the results here. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.womansday.com/health-fitness/wellness/news/a44368/is-tanning-an-addiction-or-worse-a-disorder-2585/>