Tanning pill?

For most physical discomforts, our society has been trained to think that "popping" the appropriate pill will fix just about anything. Headache, menstrual cramps, indigestion, allergies, etc., a quick survey of a local drugstore shows that there is a quick-fix immediately available for many of the prevalent, daily maladies. 

Whereas the old saying "better living through chemistry" used to be reserved for situations regarding serious ailments where human lives were really benefited from outside chemicals and medications (i.e. anti-depressants, chemo-therapy, insulin), it now has come to a point where "better living" encompasses just about every kind of health experience a person can have. For instance, the latest medical foray currently in production is a medication for tanning.

This little pill is supposed to deliver a safe tan, and provide extra protection against skin cancer. Better living indeed...

Although not important in the grand scheme of things, the subject of a tan is a frustrating one. Most people do look (and feel) better when they are tan, and yet-- the tan that boosts their self-confidence today is the #1 cause of premature aging and skin cancer tomorrow.  The informed, self-willed people (*ahem*) put their SPF 50 on every morning year-round, and yet look longingly at the beautifully tanned models and celebrities featured everywhere... 

Enter scientists from L'Oreal and Nestle (weird pairing, I know) to the rescue... eventually. Currently hard at work on a "tanning pill" (perhaps it tastes like chocolate?), the supplement dubbed "Inneov Sun Sensitivity" combines lycopene and beta-carotene — the red and orange substances in tomatoes and carrots — with a probiotic that is thought to increase the skin's resistance to UV light. Together, it is thought that these ingredients will darken your skin, while reducing your ability to sun-burn.

While this product has already released to European and South American markets, it is still being evaluated in the United States to determine whether or not it can deliver what it promises. Inneov labs, the laboratories where this pill was designed and made, also ran the testing-- which is considered poor practice in the medical world. Because they have so much to gain financially from their findings, the results are considered tainted no matter what they show... and what they show is inconclusive anyway.

In theory, a "tanning pill" would be a great addition to the pharma-umbrella that helps shelter our lives from so much unnecessary unpleasantness. A pill that could grant the safe tan everyone wants, and protect against skin-cancer would be the biggest medication coup since Botox and Viagra combined! 

Despite the respectable, proven, in-depth studies that have shown the correlation between sun exposure, wrinkles, and cancer, the tanning industry remains alive and well. The money available in this market will likely keep the tests going until a "tanning pill" actually does exist... but lets hope that when this happens, they come up with a much kickier name. For such a guaranteed blockbuster product, "Inneov Sun Sensitivity" has no ring to it, whatsoever. (Burn!)