Starting This Summer, Getting a Tan Will Cost You

The government has had enough with all the faking and baking (and it has nothing to do with Snooki). This July — as part of the health-care reform measures — a 10 percent tax will be added to indoor tanning-bed services nationwide. Perhaps this has something to do with the fact that using a tanning bed before the age of 35 increases your risk of getting skin cancer by 75 percent and that Americans ages 25-29 are the fastest-growing group of skin cancer victims. With over one million of us frequenting tanning salons every day and one person dying from melanoma every hour, Uncle Sam is hoping that this tax will cause people to think twice before becoming tanorexic. To shed more light (er, no pun intended) on the topic, the FDA is also hosting a half-hour-long webinar on the dangers of UV radiation from tanning beds today at 2 p.m. EST. If you have a suspicious mole or are overdue for your annual skin screening, go to sossaveourskin.com, aad.org, or womensderm.org to learn more about early detection and find free skin screening centers. And remember, Jersey Shore residents — next time you wanna "get the beat out," just wear a sweatproof sunscreen.