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Opinion
The Battalion
Page 5B • Thursday, November 13, 2003
Dying to be beautiful
Consequences of tanning beds outweigh temporary and superficial benefits
T \
:
Ihese days, it seems as though the
American ideal of a healthy looking indi
vidual is one that is synonymous with a
tan individual. While one may be drawn to the
glow of a dark, tan person, the healthful aspects
of this look could not be more deceiving.
The dark tan that everyone craves is a dan
gerous cosmetic undertaking, whether
obtained by sunning at the beach or in a more
readily available tanning bed, which is why
some states, such as Texas, have rightly taken
measures to limit one’s access to tanning beds.
It is estimated that more than 50,000 people will be diag
nosed with melanoma this year alone, and almost 8,000 of them
will die from the disease; this means that there is one person
dying every hour from skin cancer every day of the year,
according to the American Academy of Dermatology. While not
all melanomas are caused by overexposure to the sun and ultra
violet rays, it has been determined that UVA and UVB rays
taken in by tanning are the major components in activating the
deadly cancer.
While most college and high school students don’t think
about skin cancer at their age, they should - 80 percent of sun
damage occurs before the age of 18, according to the AAD.
In addition to the possibility of skin cancer, there are other
problems associated with overexposure to UV rays, such as a
dysfunctional immune system, sun and eye burns, cataracts and
photosensitivity reactions to certain medications.
“There is no such thing as a safe tan,” said Dr. Shelley Sekula-
Gibbs, a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at Baylor
Medical School. “A tan is the skin’s response to an injury.”
If this is the case, how does the tanning industry bring in more
than 1 million people a day to effectively kill their skin and them
selves, according to the AAD? Why do so many put their health at
risk, especially when, said Sekula-Gibbs, “A safe tanning bed is
like saying there is a safe cigarette. It doesn’t exist.”
To help counteract the deadly effects of tanning and educate
the general public, Texas passed legislation outlining regula
tions the tanning industry must follow to operate in the state.
The legislation is meant to protect those most vulnerable to
skin damage.
The law prohibits any person under the age of 13 from using
an indoor booth, unless it is under a doctor’s supervision. In
addition, teens between the ages of 13 and 15 must be accom
panied by a parent and 16- to 17-year-olds must have a note
from their parents to receive service.
“(Through this legislation) the Texas Legislature recognizes
the need for tighter regulation of the tanning industry and the
compelling need to protect and educate young people about the
dangers of tanning salons,” Sekula-Gibbs said.
With all of the warnings and medical facts on the dangers of
tanning, why do students still feel compelled to flock to the
tanning salons and put themselves in danger, just to be a few
shades darker?
If they really want to be a darker shade of brown, there are
healthier alternatives to tanning beds and the beach.
Individuals have found out how to get that dark look so wildly
craved without baking their skin. Spray-on tans have emerged as a
healthy alternative to the day at the beach or 20 minutes in the tan
ning bed. The spray-on tan is more expensive right now, as it is still
relatively new, but is expected to drop in price soon. If one desper
ately wants a tan, one must ask how much their health is worth.
“(The spray) is extremely harmless,” said Dr. James Spencer,
vice chairman of dermatology at the Mt. Sinai School of Medicine
in New York. Why risk health for a darker complexion? Risking
their health is what so may teens and college students are doing
these days, and there is no logic behind it.
The tan some people think looks healthy is nothing more
than a deeply burnt, and dead, outer layer of skin being manip
ulated and mutated into something potentially deadly. The risk
of tanning far outweighs the advantages of this popular outing.
Those students running to the tanning beds must to realize
exactly what they are doing to their skin, their health and what
the potential outcome is down the road.
Although the tan desired may be the initial product after a trip to
the tanning salon, the consequences 10 years down the road may be
very different when the individual is facing leathery, wrinkled and
possibly melanoma-ridden skin. As Tennessee state Senator
Rosalind Kunta said, “If you weren’t bom with a tan, don’t get one.”
Good advice if one wants to keep their skin and body healthy.
Ivan Flores • THE BATTALION
Lauren Esposito is a senior
English major.
State juries must determine extent of HMO neglect
JOHN DAVID
BLAKLEY
r he U.S. Census Bureau
estimated last year that
more than 125 million
Americans are covered by
health maintenance organiza
tions, commonly known as
HMOs. The primary function
of an HMO is to achieve a
controlled level of quality
and efficiency for participat
ing individuals and physi
cians. Oftentimes, this leads HMOs to balance
costs with the best treatment for patients under
their care.
Naturally, inferior treatment is often less
expensive, guiding HMOs to authorize medica
tion that is less effective than more costly pre
scriptions. With two appeals on the docket con
cerning HMO negligence, the Supreme Court
must allow patients who have been wronged by
HMO coverage decisions to sue for punitive
damages in state court, and not allow HMOs to
skirt responsibility in federal court, where they
are less likely to pay.
In one of the cases, Aetna Health, Inc. v.
Davila, a post-polio patient named Juan Davila
was given a prescription for Vioxx by his physi
cian to relieve his arthritis pain. Vioxx has a
lower occurrence of gastrointestinal bleeding
than other anti-inflammatory medication.
Nevertheless, Aetna refused to fill Davila’s pre
scription until he entered its “step program,”
which required he first try two less expensive
drugs. Three weeks after he was given the less
expensive naprosyn, Davila was rushed to the
emergency room. The doctors reported he suf
fered from bleeding ulcers, which caused a near
heart attack and internal bleeding.
In the other appeal, CIGNA Healthcare of
Texas v. Calad, Ruby Calad underwent a hys
terectomy along with other medical procedures.
Although her doctor recommended she stay
longer, Calad was told by CIGNA’s hospital dis
charge nurse that the standard, one-day hospital
stay would be sufficient. Calad returned to the
emergency room a few days later due to compli
cations related to her early release.
Davila and Calad sued their HMOs in state
court under the Texas Health Care Liability Act.
However, Aetna and CIGNA moved the respective
cases to federal court based on preemption set
forth in the Employee Retirement Income Security
Act of 1974. Removal to federal court is a com
mon occurrence in cases involving suits against
HMOs. This is because in state courts, juries have
the power to exact large damages to patients.
Juries, fully informed of the circumstances
surrounding the case, should be given this
power. Having these types of cases decided by
juries ensures openness and a fundamental and
objective fairness.
Under Title 28 of the U.S. Code, “any civil
action brought in a state court of which the dis
trict courts have original jurisdiction may be
removed by the defendant, or the defendants, to
the district court of the United States for the dis
trict and division embracing the place where
such action is pending.” Although the Federal
District Court in Dallas agreed to hear the case,
the cases were not within the court’s original
jurisdiction and, therefore,
should not have been heard
by it.
Under the well-pleaded
complaint rule created in
Louisville and Nashville
Railroad v. Mottley, the fed
eral court’s original jurisdic
tion applies only to cases in
which “the plaintiff’s com
plaint states a cause of action
arising under federal law,”
with the exception of when a
federal cause of action pre
empts a state cause of action.
A cause of action in these
cases is the method used to
bring action to recover dam
ages for injuries suffered as a result of HMO
failure. Aetna and CIGNA contend that the
Texas liability act duplicates the scope of the
federal employment act and, consequently, the
district court has original jurisdiction. However,
since the federal employment act does not pro
vide a cause of action for participants and bene
ficiaries to bring suit against HMOs, the district
court should remand.
As pointed out by the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court
of Appeals when deciding the Davila and Calad
a
Until such federal
legislation is passed, it is
important to allow states
to provide laws that help
patients who suffer from
HMO neglect a process to
recover for the damage
undergone.
cases, three types of decisions exist concerning
HMOS: eligibility decisions, treatment decisions
and mixed decisions. Mixed decisions, which
question whether one treatment is superior to
another, are not covered by feder
al act. The decisions in the Davila
and Calad cases involve mixed
decisions: Both inherently require
trade-offs between costs and
patient welfare.
Since 1996, Democrats in the
House and Senate have been
fighting to establish a strong
Patients’ Bill of Rights, only to
be stymied by Republican party
line votes. Until such federal leg
islation is passed, it is important
to allow states to provide laws
that allow patients who suffer
from HMO neglect a process to
recover for the damages under
gone. Davila and Calad are not
seeking reimbursement for benefits denied, but
compensation for injuries caused by their
HMOs’ failure to exercise proper medical care,
and for justice to be served, state juries must
have the opportunity to hear their cases.
John David Blakley is a sophomore
political science major.
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Anti-abortion protest
ineffective
Yesterday, there were several pro-life
groups with large photographs of
aborted babies. The reasoning behind
these displays seems fairly obvious: To
graphically show the horror that abor
tion is to unborn children across the
nation. Unfortunately I doubt that
these displays had the desired effect.
While the groups who were showing
these images are well within their
rights to do so, many people find these
images offensive, and rightly so, but
the end result is not anger generated
against abortion. It only sparks anger
against those responsible for present
ing the images. This makes the
demonstration self-defeating because
it convinces no one.
The problem is the positional premis
es behind pro-life and pro-choice. Pro
life believes that a full human life,
requiring complete protection under
the law, is created at conception. Pro-
choice says that it is at birth that this
occurs and before that the rights of the
woman take precedence over the
fetus. In this case, anyone in the pro-
choice camp views these images the
same as cat dissection photos from a
biology lab; they are disgusting, offen
sive, and ineffective in changing any
one’s position. Holding a public forum,
debate, or symposium would better
address the issues around abortion
from both sides.
J. Stephen Addcox
Class of2005
Use of children in
protest sickening
Having been at A&M for three years
now, I have seen many anti-abortion
groups come and share their mes
sage. I have seen the gruesome pic
tures of aborted babies that can fit in
your hand, I have read the pamphlets
shoved in my face, and I have wept at
the stories of women who come to
share their experiences. But, I wasn’t
sickened about these groups that
come to A&M until yesterday.
Many of you may have received
pamphlets from young middle school
children. Why weren’t these kids in
school? I saw a young boy, sitting on
a ledge outside the Memorial
Student Center, holding a large 4 feet
by 4 feet picture of a dismembered
MAIL CALL
aborted baby. His expression was
obviously one of boredom, as he just
sat there with his head resting
against the back of the board, limply
holding out his hand with a pamphlet
for anyone to take.
I am anti-abortion and I believe it is
important to inform students of the
risks of abortion, but it is irresponsible
of the parents to use these children to
further their own moral beliefs.
Christ! McNealy
Class of 2004
4-day-old zygote
unique human being
In response to Midhat Farooqi's
Nov. 12 column:
Mr. Farooqi, your mastery at disguis
ing the real moral dilemma behind
therapeutic cloning is admirable. You
say, “researchers would take a regular
cell from Somerville’s body, place it in
a human egg, and allow this cloned
cell to grow for about four days.” What
you don’t mention is that the regular
cell taken from his body is a reproduc
tive sperm cell, and that the cloned cell
being incubated for four days is a
human zygote, complete with its own
genetic identity and distinct in its
humanity from either the donor of the
egg or the sperm. Imagine the scene
in the first Matrix where the machines
have devised an elaborate system for
incubating and harvesting human bod
ies for energy to keep them alive. Is
this really the direction we want sci
ence to take us in?
Steve Ferrell
Graduate Student
The Battalion encourages letters to the editor. Letters must be 200 words or less and include
the author’s name, class and phone number. The opinion editor reserves the right/to edit letters for
length, style and accuracy. Letters may be submitted in person at 014 Reed McDonald with a valid
student ID. Letters also may be mailed to: 014 Reed McDonald, MS 1111, Texas A&M University,
College Station, TX 77843-1111. Fax: (979) 845-2647 Email: mailcall@thebattalion.net