More evidence links tanning beds to skin cancer

Women who use tanning salons have a somewhat increased risk of skin cancer, according to a study that adds to evidence that baking in a tan bed can be as bad as baking under the sun.

The study, by a team at Harvard Medical School, looked at data from nearly 730,000 nurses followed for 20 years and found that women who used tanning beds in their youth were more likely than others to develop skin cancer -- basal cell carcinoma in particular.

Though many studies have linked tanning beds to a higher skin cancer risk, the link to basal cell carcinoma, by far the most common form of skin cancer, have been inconsistent.