Are kids spending their time looking for indoor tanning beds? They may want to think twice about that if they want to continue to be healthy as adults.

But it's not just younger kids that are risking their lives by tanning. Studies show that any person under the age of 30 who uses indoor tanning beds regularly has increased risks of cancer by as much as 75 percent.

In fact, the World Health Organization lists indoor tanning beds as being in the top of their list for things that are known to cause cancer. Naturally they do not recommend that any person under the age of 18 use a tanning bed in any way.

The tanning industry as a whole is expected to generate about $2.6 Billion in 2010 alone, so simply asking teens to stay away from the tanning salon is likely not going to work very well.

It seems that kids today love to have that healthy shade or orange that they love so much on their idols.

Who is using indoor tanning beds?

It is estimated that almost 70 percent of tanning salon patrons are girls and women from the ages of 16 - 29 years old. Think about this. Every day in the United States alone, more than 1 million people will visit a tanning salon in an effort to chase some idea of beauty.

Why are people so obsessed with being tan?

There are likely many reasons in which young and old people alike spend their days baking in indoor tanning beds, most of which are very likely related to vanity. They see someone on TV or in the movies that is overly tanned, they have to look the same.

And there is no excuse for it. In the olden days, people would slather themselves up with butter, oil and any other kind of fruity smelling lotion in an effort to become a bronze bombshell, but they didn't really know any better.

Nowadays though, we have good information on the risks and rewards of tanning in these ways so there is no good reason that it should be continued by our youth.

Is there an alternative?

If young people really need to follow some dream of looking a certain way, then there are safer alternatives to indoor tanning beds. Most notably, there are spray tanning methods which are known to be completely safe.

Once more, these methods can last up to 2 weeks and come without any risk of cancer or sunburn to a person's delicate skin. And if it is done correctly, the outcome is really pretty nice.

There is no reason for a person to bake themselves in the sun when there are safer alternatives to the dangerous UV rays found in traditional tanning beds.

If the pursuit of vanity is really going to drive a multi-billion dollar industry, then it is important to keep finding new and safe ways in which young and old people alike can obtain the look they want, without all the health risks associated with indoor tanning salons that do not cater to health conscious people.