研究人員選取了兩份用于評定人們是否酗酒、是否有物質相關性障礙的問卷模板，內容則換成美黑相關。例如：“你是否在美黑的同時計劃減少美黑時間？”

然后，研究人員對數百名本科生進行了該問卷調查，這些學生平均每年要去美黑沙龍23次。想知道結果么？結果就是，他們當中有50人（相當于參與調查總人數的1/5）符合有美黑癮的標準。同時，這些人還表現出焦慮的癥狀，因此他們吸毒、酗酒的可能性極大。研究人員指出，美黑燈誘惑你的方式和毒品如出一轍，同伴的誘導作用就包含其中。

Scientists have finally verified something that Jersey Shore stars Snooki and Pauly D have probably known all along—that getting your bronze on at the tanning salon may be addictive. And the more often you tan, the more likely you are to get hooked, according to a study in the Archives of Dermatology. [Catherine Mosher and Sharon Danoff-Burg, http://bit.ly/bulE8u]

The researchers started with two questionnaires commonly used to assess patients for alcohol abuse and substance-related disorders. But they modified the questions to focus on indoor tanning habits. For example: "Do you try to cut down on the time you spend in tanning beds or booths but find yourself still tanning?"

Then they gave those surveys to a couple hundred undergrads who fake'n'bake, on average, 23 times a year. The result? Fifty students, or about a fifth of those surveyed, met the authors' criteria for addiction to indoor tanning. This group also reported greater symptoms of anxiety, and were more likely to use drugs and alcohol. The investigators say drugs and tanning lamps might hook you through similar means, including peer pressure.

As for Snooki, it may be time for an intervention. When asked how she would change the world if she could, she said, “I would put tanning beds in everybody's homes."

—Christopher Intagliata