Last month, the surgeon general issued a report that reiterated a warning to sunbathers about this dangers of skin cancer. The warning was issued alongside statistics that revealed the rates of melanoma had increased 200 percent in the last three decades.

Each year in the United States, melanoma is diagnosed in 63,000 people and is responsible for 9,000 deaths. Since 1973, the number of individuals with skin cancer has surpassed the total of all other cancer cases combined.

Tanning booths are especially risky they produced concentrated levels of the UV rays suspected in causing cancer. Thanks to changes in the ozone layer, it is increasingly easy to accidentally get burned outdoors, even with sunscreen.

Despite the dangers involved with tanning, it is still a common practice. Awareness is on the rise as more and more people apply sunscreen before venturing out into the sun. However, the dangers of tanning have been circulating widely since the 1980’s and the rate of tanners does not seem to be lessening. Instead, the surgeon general reported that roughly 55 percent of college-age men and women have tanned in tanning booths.

This has led many to question why tanning is so popular despite the dire warnings surrounding it.

One reason could be that UV rays are literally addictive. Research shows that the parts of the brain thought to be associated with addiction react when a person is exposed to UV rays. To the brain, tanning seems like a reward which is reflected in participants of certain studies expressing strong desires to tan before a session and lessened desire afterwards.

One study even went so far as to offer a normal tanning session and then compare it to a session where the UV rays were filtered. Researchers working on this study stated that the areas of the brain normally activated by UV rays were less active during the second condition. Not only that, but the participants appeared to be aware of the lack of UV rays despite the fact that they were not told of the filters. Instead of leaving the booth with a diminished drive to tan as had occurred with the normal session, participants reported wanting to tan just as badly as when they had entered.

Experts suggest that people who wish to tan use sunscreen with at least SPF 30 and reapply it frequently while out in the sun. Regular screenings for abnormal growths are also recommended, especially for people who experienced severe sunburns as children.