\u201cAt UConn, there was a lot of interest and enthusiasm at the highest levels, which is fantastic because skin cancer is one of the types of cancer that tends to be dismissed,\u201d said Sherry Pagoto, a professor in the Department of Allied Health Sciences and director of the UConn Center for mHealth and Social Media<\/a>. \u201cMelanoma is the most common cancer among women in their early twenties, so there\u2019s a huge opportunity here for universities to encourage prevention. We have the opportunity to get a generation of women to avoid using tanning beds.\u201d<\/p>\n As a Platinum Skin Smart Campus, UConn has agreed to not have indoor tanning salons on campus or in University buildings. Tanning salons cannot be accessible in off-campus housing that is supported or promoted by the University, and HuskyBucks cannot be used to pay for indoor tanning sessions.<\/p>\n UConn has also agreed to make available educational materials that focus on the risks of ultraviolet (UV) exposure as well as skin cancer prevention practices. Those materials are currently available to students, faculty and staff online through Student Health and Wellness at studenthealth.uconn.edu\/skinsmart<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n \u201cUConn is committed to promoting the health and safety of all members of our community,\u201d said President Thomas C. Katsouleas, who signed the University\u2019s memorandum of understanding, making the Skin Smart Campus designation effective on November 1. \u201cAs a newly recognized Skin Smart Campus, we are joining with other universities around the country in taking steps to reduce indoor tanning, which is directly associated with increased risk of melanoma and other skin cancers.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to its national recognition as a Skin Smart Campus, UConn is also receiving two free sunscreen dispensers from the nonprofit advocacy group IMPACT Melanoma<\/a> \u2013 which will be matched by a donation of two additional dispensers from Pagoto\u2019s lab, for a total of four new dispensers \u2013 and a one-year supply of sunscreen to stock them.<\/p>\n UV exposure is the most preventable cause of skin cancer. While exposure to UV rays from indoor tanning beds is particularly carcinogenic \u2013 more than 400,000 cases of skin cancer may be related to indoor tanning in the United States each year, according to a 2014 meta-analysis<\/a> \u2013 it\u2019s also completely avoidable. As 16 states have enacted laws prohibiting use of indoor tanning before age 18, Pagoto said, the college years have become the next focus of prevention efforts.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/skinsmartcampus.jpg\")
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