July 28, 2009 - A leading global cancer research group is declaring tanning bed use a significant cancer hazard.

The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) announced today that it has moved UV tanning beds to its highest cancer risk category -- "carcinogenic to humans."

Prior to the move, the group had classified sun lamp and tanning bed use as "probably carcinogenic to humans."

In an interview with WebMD, the IARC’s Vincent Cogliano, PhD, called the scientific evidence linking indoor tanning to the deadly skin cancer melanoma “sufficient and compelling.”

A dramatic rise in melanoma, especially among young women, has been seen in recent years.

Cogliano said studies conducted over the past decade provide an “an abundance of evidence” that tanning bed use has played a role in this rise, along with direct sun exposure.

“People mistakenly see a tan as a sign of health when it is actually a sign of damage to the skin,” he says.