Archive for December, 2009
Senate Announces Proposed Tax on Indoor Tanning Salons
If you have been keeping up with the healthcare reform news, you have probably heard the criticism surrounding the proposed “Botax” or tax on elective cosmetic surgery procedures. But after much opposition and lobbying from pharmaceutical companies, the cosmetic surgery tax has been thrown out, and a new tax on tanning beds has been thrown in.
The new bill proposes a 10 percent tax on indoor tanning salons. This addition, plus a .9 percent increase in Medicare payroll tax for high earning households, is expected to generate about $86.8 billion dollars over a 6 year time span.
The former plan to tax cosmetic surgeries was highly opposed because it would be the first tax of its kind to place a levy on a medical service. A tax on tanning beds may be more widely accepted because it is known to cause harmful UV damage. However, like the “Botax” which was criticized for unfairly targeting middle class woman, the new tanning bed tax can also be opposed for this reason (as woman are by far the biggest consumers in the indoor tanning industry).
While we at Dermatology Associates of Atlanta may or may not agree with the proposed healthcare reform bill, we absolutely agree on the dangers of tanning bed use. While the harmful effects of tanning beds were long suspected, a study earlier this year confirmed the link between tanning beds and skin cancer. (Read more from a previous blog entry).
Safe sun exposure should be practiced and tanning beds avoided at all costs! If you have used tanning beds in the past, make sure to come into schedule an appointment with one of our experienced dermatologists to get your moles checked.
If a tan glow is what you desire, there are safer options, like spray tans and bronzing makeup which can be used. Remember to never sacrifice the health of your skin!
Dermatology Associates of Atlanta World News Highlight: Chinese Study Finds Evidence of Leprosy Genes
One of the most ancient, and literarily relevant, skin diseases is leprosy. It has been around for over 4,000 years, was well known in ancient China and was even mentioned in the Bible. Now that treatments are available for leprosy patients, the disease does not carry the same stigma as it once did. However, new evidence has been uncovered that suggests that scientists have been wrong about the causes of leprosy.
The long term study done in China, and recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found seven gene mutations which appear to increase a person’s susceptibility to the disease. This evidence refutes the previous claim that scientists have made about leprosy not being an inherited or congenital disease.
While leprosy can indeed by “contagious”, this study shows that this is not the only way for a person to contract the disease. This new evidence suggests that leprosy is influenced by a person’s genes and that if a parent contracts leprosy, more than likely, their offspring will too.
The study looked at the genes of 706 leprosy patients and 1,225 non leprosy patients, finding the seven mutated genes in all of the leprosy patients. The genes found are classified as “susceptibility” genes, meaning that a person with these genes will not necessarily contract leprosy, but will be more susceptible to it if exposed.
This is an important discovery, because although leprosy isn’t a problem in countries like the US or China, it is still prevalent in developing nations. In the future, people with leprosy susceptibility can be identified before they contract the disease and permanent damage is made.
Leprosy, also known as Hansen’s disease, affects the skin, eyes, mucous membranes, and nerves. Unfortunately, any nerve damage to leprosy patients is permanent even if they are recovered from the disease.
While it is pretty unlikely that you will come into contact with leprosy in your lifetime, we at Dermatology Associates of Atlanta believe it is interesting to discover new knowledge about the skin and various skin diseases – especially diseases like leprosy that have been around for so many years!
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