The Environmental Protection Agency (in the 1984 classic “Ghostbusters” Walter Peck was a representative of the EPA and was responsible for shutting down the Ghostbusters’ containment facility’s power grid causing all hell to break loose, but that is neither her nor there) has devoted a section of their website to sun safety, it is called SunWise. The site is full of fun activities that promote sun safety and provides tips on how to be safe in the sun. They provide great information such as:
“The indoor tanning industry has an estimated revenue of $5 billion per year.
Several studies have shown that exposure to tanning beds before the age of 35 increases melanoma risk by 75% (range=35% to 126%).”
This statistic reminds me of the Greek myth of Narcissus where in a young man falls in love with himself and ultimately dies from it. The myth has several different versions, but here is the last lines of a brief synopsis of a Roman version pulled from Wikipedia for those who aren’t familiar:
Blah blah blah Nymph. Blah blah hunting. Blah blah…”[Narcissus] became thirsty and went to drink from a stream, but he wouldn’t touch the water for fear of damaging his reflection, so he eventually passed away, staring at his own reflection.”
Many people today are so wrapped up in how they look that they put their own health aside just to get a few extra looks. Tanning beds, crash diets and cosmetic surgery are just a few examples of how people unnecessarily put their bodies at risk for superficial ends. Hundreds of years ago the tale of Narcissus was created to warn the generations to come about the dangers of vanity, today we need a proper retelling more than ever.
