Want A Shot of Sunshine?

In the 70 years since Coco Chanel's bronzed mannequins helped make the perfect tan a symbol of leisure and affluence, a well-browned body seems to have joined the pantheon of inalienable human entitlements, right there alongside life, liberty and the pursuit of good TV reception. How else to explain the fuss made last week in the prestigious Journal of the American Medical Association about the newest way to achieve that sun-kissed look: by injection.

In a seven-page report, with accompanying editorial, a team of scientists led by University of Arizona dermatologist Norman Levine told how, in a randomized, placebo-controlled experiment, visible tanning was induced in 15 healthy men after 10 injections of a potent hormone called MSH (melanocyte- stimulating hormone). The tans lasted nearly nine weeks with no immediate side effects beyond a brief flushing sensation and a mild stomachache.

But it's hard to imagine sun worshipers lining up at doctors' offices for their bimonthly tanning fix. No one should take any hormone without considering the long-term consequences. And as the J.A.M.A. editorial points out, MSH is a powerful brain chemical associated with a wide range of neurological effects; it is known to influence verbal memory in humans and sexual behavior in rats. Levine and his colleagues argue that tanning shots might offer protection for fair-skinned patients who sunburn easily, a group increasingly at risk for skin cancer as the ozone layer shrinks. But is that anything that can't be achieved at lower cost and less danger with a smear of sunscreen and a wide-brimmed hat?