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The Bed is Dead Campaign Aimed at Teen Girls

The Bed is Dead is a social-media based campaign focused on raising awareness among teenagers about the link between indoor tanning and malignant melanoma, the most dangerous of the skin cancers.

Dr. Dave Watts is Vice Chair of the Nebraska Cancer Coalition.

He says the Bed is Dead is specifically aimed at teenage girls, ages 13-18, who tan far more often than their male counterparts. 

Watts says melanomas are twice as common in women under the age of 30 as men in the same age group.

"You can get as much ultraviolet radiation damage on your skin in about 15 minutes in a high pressure tanning bed as you can with four hours of noontime sunlight outdoors.  So it’s much more concentrated exposure to ultraviolet and often over a greater portion of the skin’s surface.”

Watts says melanomas are entirely preventable. 

He says during the Bed is Dead Campaign, girls 13-18 are encouraged to take a pledge not to use tanning beds. 

After they take the pledge, girls are invited to post a picture of themselves stating why they choose not to tan indoors with the hashtag #thebedisdead. 

One winner will be awarded a $1,000 cash prize.