I’ve written before about why I don’t tan, and unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past few years, you know that tanning carries with it some pretty serious risks. Still, up to 80 percent of people under 25 are convinced that they look better with a tan, and every single day, more than one million Americans visit tanning salons. As dangerous as natural sun exposure can be, it seems that tanning beds may be even worse. People who have used indoor tanning beds are at a 75% higher risk for melanoma, the most lethal form of skin cancer.

So why do people take the risk? Because they want to look good. And, according to a new study, they may be addicted. In 2005, scientists showed that many sunbathers met the medical definition of substance abuse disorder. This inspired researchers from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center to dig a little deeper. Their results, which were published over the summer, found that brain scans of frequent tanners showed activity that was similar to the patterns of drug addiction.

The subjects of the study were people who reported tanning at least three times a week, and said that maintaining a tan was important to them. Researchers suspected that the tanners were addicted to the UV light they were exposed to in the tanning beds. So they gave participants a normal tanning experience sometimes, but at other times used a special filter to block out the UV rays. And even though the tanners were unaware of the change, they subconsciously knew that something was off. Participants enjoyed the normal sessions, but after the fake sessions, subjects said that they still felt like they needed to tan. Researchers say that these people really do appear to be addicted to tanning.

And now, if there are similar tanning addicts who are under 18, they’re about to have a problem. Just a few weeks ago, the Governor of California signed a law making the use of tanning beds illegal for all minors. A few states already ban tanning beds for people under 16 or under 14, and now 17 states are considering laws similar to California’s. Many medical organizations and skin cancer advocates say this is a great step, and have voiced support for these laws. But owners of tanning salons worry that this will hurt business and cause people to lose jobs. Most of all, frequent tanners complain that tanning is a choice, and one that they have a right to make.

What do you think? Should people be able to make their own choices about tanning despite its risks? Or is it important to pass these laws in order to protect people, especially teens?

I’m really beginning to become legitimately concerned for Lilo.  As I should.  I remember when Britney Spears was shaving her head and whipping out umbrellas at paparazzi.   I was most certainly not making fun of Britney’s recent endorsement for Candies, or how funny her head was shaped.  I cared for Britney Spears, I wanted the best for her.  There was a piece inside of me that felt bad for her. I wanted to pull her aside, buy her Starbucks and talk it out.  I understand Britney’s situation is a little different than Lilo’s, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t want to reach out to someone that has a problem and wish the best for them.

Therefore, why can’t we feel the same remorse for Lohan?  As much as we want to rip on her, she has a REAL problem.   And as much as we compulsively make fun of her and joke around, letting her out of rehab early was an awful idea.  I learned this in grade school: drugs ain’t no joke and Lindsay got off way to easily. (OK, I didn’t learn that second part in grade school but you get the point.)  Our news outlets say it all, Lohan has been in this position many times before, proving the true seriousness of her addiction.  If Lilo doesn’t get help real soon, she is never going to get better.

Lindsay’s original sentence was 90 days in jail, 90 days in rehab.  Unfortunately for her well being, she was released way too early from both.  Lohan was only in jail for 13 days which isn’t nearly enough time for her to let her consequences sink in.  On top of that, Lohan was allowed to leave on the 23rd day of a 90 day sentence from rehab. I don’t know much about rehab (thank god), but I can say with 100% certainty that 23 days isn’t enough time.  Forgive me for bringing math into this, but maybe if Lohan actually spent 90 days in jail and 90 days in rehab, she would successfully do a 180.

Instead, Lindsay is right back where she started. She even took it upon herself to go out partying after admitting she had tested positive not once, but twice for drugs.  If that isn’t some sort of problem, I don’t know what is.  As much as you can loathe her for blaming Hollywood for her problems, she is a human being. And as easy as it is to poke fun at her failing career, the girl really needs help and it is going to take more than an early release from rehab, not enough time in jail and starring in another dark movie to get her back.

Lindsay has a serious problem and it’s time we all start rooting for her to overcome it.

This is boring.

[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like soul mates!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

Schools all over have been experimenting with social media lately – some of them getting into it and some of them encouraging their students to stay out of it. Now Harrisburg University of Science and Tech are blocking all social media from the school’s network including Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and AIM for a week. They’re not the first school to try a move like this, but my question is, is it right?

I think we’re all willing to admit that we’re maybe a little over-connected, maybe a little obsessed with our social media and it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world not to check our Twitter feeds every two minutes. I’m not striking out against the school not supporting social media – it’s their network and if they don’t want students using it that way, it’s their prerogative to block those sites. My problem is that this is an experiment. That’s right, a guy at Harrisburg saw his teen daughter juggling a lot of social media and decided to see what would happen if he took it away. Except, instead of conducting this little experiment in his home, he chose to use his position at the college to pull a social media blackout for a week. And then proceeded to tell virtually no one about it. My qualms about the experiment’s ethics aside (hello, consent?) the bigger question is, is this something the school should really be policing?

I talked a while back about school’s trying to force community policy to curb student binge drinking, and I feel much the same on this issue. Sure, we all know that we overdo it a little on the Facebook updates – just as we all know that if you can’t remember where you live when you leave the bar, it’s probably not fun party time for your liver – but is it actually our school’s business to step in and dictate this stuff for us?

OK, in this case, it’s not that the school is against social media (it is a tech school, after all) they just wanted to study the effects, so maybe that’s not so bad. And as I said, the schools should have a right to police the things that students use their network for, since they are the ones providing it. I just can’t help but get a little squirmy at the Orwellian-ness of it all; just making rules and taking things away without warning and then we all just have to live with it.

And not even have a chance to Tweet about it. Gah.

What do you say? Am I overreacting to a harmless little experiment? Or is this a much bigger issue about how school’s get involved in our lives? Duke it out!

I always knew I had an addictive personality. To be fair, though, for awhile I thought that meant that other people were addicted to my personality: my sense of humor, my charming ways, my gift giving skills… But then I got to college, smoked my first cigarette outside of a frat party and quickly learned that:

A) There are some people who don’t find me charming
B) Cigarettes are delightful when you’re drinking

But despite all the bad things about cigarettes and the fact that I now have to stand in the rain to smoke them because they’re illegal indoors, that addiction might actually be the least of my problems. So let me share my 10 worst addictions that might be worthy of an A&E Intervention.

10. The Real Housewives
It’s bad enough that I DVR every episode of every season and know more about these catty women than I do about foreign policy. But the real problem is that I hate them – every single one of them – and watching them makes me so angry I want to reach through my TV and throttle them. But since I can’t choke Ramona, I end up indulging in a row of Oreos to ease my anxiety. But do I stop watching? No. I can’t. And I also can’t curb my excitement for the newest cast in D.C.

9. Coffee
It’s gotten to the point that I can’t even go to the gym without having at least one Grande Americano first. I’ll even make a Starbucks run at 9 p.m. on a Thursday just to make it through my weekly dose of #10. And then I’ll pass out at 10 p.m.

8. Driving Fast
Three speeding tickets in 3 months, plus one situation where I got pulled over and flirted my way out of another? Yes, that’s me!

7. Email
The first thing I do when my alarm goes off in the morning is turn on my iPhone and check my email. And then I continue to check it obsessively throughout the day. It’s not like there’s anything really important coming through that requires me to check every 11 minutes (well, after I’ve read my RueLala specials), but I can’t stop. Not even when I’m doin’ a little #8 (don’t tell Oprah!) or a little #2 (in the bathroom…not the one on this list.)

6. Eyebrow waxing
Based on the way my eyebrows grow in, I’m pretty sure I’m a distant cousin of Chewbacca. I swear, if I think about it hard enough I can make my brows grow back in a minute. I’ve become addicted to keeping them perfect and my weekly appointments give me a high similar to the one I get after a really good workout.

5. Kashi Go Lean Crunch
It’s healthy and tasty and I’ll eat it with anything from cereal to ice cream. But it also has some foul smelling side effects. Needless to say, it’s my friends that have the biggest issue with this particular addiction.

4. Late night food
No matter how hard I try, I can’t come home from a night out without eating something greasy, disgusting and totally unhealthy. And trust me, I’ve tried. I once forced myself to go to bed without food, passed out for an hour, then got up and ordered a pizza.

3. Judging People
Not all people – just the ones that deserve it. Like men with mullets, girls who wear stripper shoes, the women who go on The Bachelor, the annoying kid who always asks a million questions in class and makes class run over every. single. week, frat boys who still pop their collars, girls who wear Bump Its…. OK, maybe everyone.

2. Making Lists
I’ve got a list for everything: homework, my sexual history, packing, phone calls to make, emails to send, things I want to buy, people I hate, this very article….

1. Making Out
Everyone loves a great makeout session, but I can’t seem to live without them. Good or bad. Or, in the case of last weekend, so bad I had to stop in the middle and chug another beer before I could even consider sucking face with that mustachioed creepy guy again.

My aunt has been addicted to cheap pink wine fore 13 years. When I was a teenager I remember finding a giant bottle tucked away in the fridge near her bathroom. She used to say, “I just like having a glass before bed…it helps me sleep.” But even then I knew there was more to it than that.

This woman I knew as energetic, happy and fun transformed into a mean, foul being who constantly played the blame-game when she explained why she drank. “Your mother and uncle have always been awful to me…they made me this way.” I never loved my husband…he made me this way.”

Listening to her go on and on was not only angering, but utterly draining. I’d leave her house after a visit and feel exhausted by the toxic energy she spewed at me. It was in that last moment, when I pulled out of her driveway, that I decided I’d never set foot in her house again. 

It’s been four years. And when I received an intoxicated and seemingly heartfelt voicemail from her on Thursday, wishing me a happy birthday, I decided I needed to see her. I knew she would be a mess, my mother and grandmother constantly report her unimproved status on a daily basis. But I wanted to experience her myself. I wanted to see how much worse she’d become, as crazy as that sounds.

I walked in her backdoor with my mom (there was no way in hell I’d go alone) and saw her: hair, a mix of gray and red; face, makeup smeared and layered; body, almost emaciated. She was sweet at first. Her body shaky and weak. But when my uncle came home or my cousin entered the room, she’d shout, “I hate you!” and “You’re worthless.”

It was shocking to see what they were living with. That day she’d thrown my uncle’s laptop computer out the window and destroyed it, just because he wouldn’t pick up wine for her. He called the cops; she got arrested and sat in jail for 4 hours. Of course this was all she talked about. A circling of phrases that sometimes inquired about how I was doing, how my boyfriend was and then back to “Can you BELIEVE I was in JAIL for FOUR hours today!!!!!?????”

Speaking with someone in this state of mind is incredibly unbearable. And seeing how much her addiction has ruined her and her family was almost movie-like. It was so bad it didn’t seem real.

It got me to thinking about how people deal with problems. She has been suppressing years and years of emotional pain and thoughts with alcohol instead of dealing with them head on. She has been missing out on her life because she’s been too afraid to deal with and communicate her concerns, her worries, her dreams.

Life isn’t easy. But it’s overcoming challenges, not hiding from them, that makes us healthy and strong. If what you’re experiencing is too overwhelming, ask for guidance, speak up and surround yourself with happy people. Doing so will ensure that you never find yourself alone at the bottom of a wine bottle.

Having read “Beautiful Boy,” I can say that “Tweak” not only complements “Beautiful Boy,” but also provides an alternative route to the same ending. “Tweak” is aimed at a younger generation. And even though it is basically an addict discussing his horrible experiences with drugs, Sheff never preaches or seems pretentious. He remembers who his audience is; young, hip and liable to experiment.

Nic has wild adventures, rivaling hardcore experiences in books like “A Million Little Pieces” (only, you know, they are real).  From running with gang members in San Francisco, to shacking up with an old classmate in his parents’ summer estate, he’s not kidding around. He doesn’t shy away from the gritty reality of drug abuse, even though he has relapsed several times and doesn’t believe he’s completely over his addiction. It’s interesting because even though he realizes how horrible his addiction is, he admits that he can often not stop. This book portrays the reality and helplessness of addiction wonderfully and really paints addiction as a disease.

All in all, this book was enthralling and one of the best I’ve read in awhile. I have a penchant for drug/rehab books, especially during the summertime. I have no clue what induces this combination in me, but needless to say, “Tweak” fit perfectly. If you’re looking for an uncomplicated look at drug culture, abuse and rehabilitation by an author who is down to earth and so real, then pick up this read! And if you just want a real page-turner to bring you back to the world of reading for pleasure, this is it.

It’s all fun and games until someone gets hurt. And in the game of Bad Habits, you will always come out a loser. As I laid in a tanning bed, I thought about how this bad habit was going to affect me in the long run. Even though I love the immediate benefits of this vice (golden, sun-kissed skin!), I can’t help but worry about my future as a leather-skinned freak. Is the bronze skin of today worth the skin cancer of tomorrow? Let’s examine the dangerous games we play and weigh whether the consequences are worth the benefits:

Tanning

Why We Do It: I am addicted to the healthy glow I get from taking a 20 minute nap in my favorite tanning bed! I feel more relaxed, have less acne, and generally feel less self-conscious. When I’m feeling confident, I can stand up straighter, smile bigger, and show off my legs without feeling embarrassed. I feel like confidence enhances my life and I don’t want to go through my heyday without it.

Why We Shouldn’t: The reality is that, while I may feel cool and confident in my 20′s, I may be hitting up the dermatologist through my 30′s and beyond. If you expose yourself to tanning beds before age 35, your risk of developing melanoma increases 75%! Not only will I be spending my health insurance on removing cancerous or suspicious growths, I’ll be looking in a mirror at wrinkles and sagging skin. So, is the confident glow I see today going to be worth the leathery cancer-face in my future?

Drinking

Why We Do It: I may be of the non-drinking persuasion, but that doesn’t mean I don’t see why others choose to do it. Alcohol loosens you up in social situations and relaxes you after a stressful week of classes. A rousing game of quarters can bring a group of people together and help you forget about that exam you may have bombed.

Why We Shouldn’t: Unfortunately, not too many college students know when to stop before getting out of control. Did you know that 31% of college students meet the criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse? Each year, 1,700 students die from alcohol related causes and over 719,000 will suffer from consequences such as injury, assault, rape and unprotected sex. Drinking one too many is not only terrible for your health and safety, but what about those embarrassing pictures of you on Facebook that Jerkface refuses to take down?! When you decide to drink at a party, you may spend 3 hours enjoying yourself, but think ahead to what the consequences might be.

Smoking

Why We Do It: Nicotine creates that feel-good sensation, calming nerves in the way that adrenaline would during a terrifying public speech. After a long day of stressing out, girls reach for the cigs to chill and shake the anxiety. Some have even fallen for the myth that smoking will help you lose weight. Smoking is also considered a fun social activity that brings people together as they stand outside the smoke-free bar recounting what so-and-so just did with that blow up doll and a bottle of chocolate syrup.

Why We Shouldn’t: You may feel like that first puff is stripping away all your worries, but that’s just the endorphins talking. After that nicotine leaves your system an hour later, your problems will still be there except now you’ll have another one: poor health. And don’t think that smoking is a great alternative to getting a bod like Giselle! Once that nicotine raises your heart rate, blood pressure and labors your breathing, you won’t last two minutes on the treadmill. In fact, smoking will eventually increase your levels of bad cholesterol, damaging your arteries just like that Double-Double Burger you’ve been craving since Friday. Not to mention cancer, the stench, the expense and addiction!

Casual Sex

Why We Do It: Women have fought for centuries against the double standard and today is the first era that sexual freedom and expression has finally reached near equality. If we meet a hot guy, we can hook up and never have to call him back (especially if dude has some rank breath and a collection of anime porn mags). Some girls may sleep with a guy because they are horny, bored, lonely, drunk, like him, or want attention. A swift roll in the hay can make a girl feel empowered and desired.

Why We Shouldn’t: Aside from any moral repercussions, casual sex can reek havoc on your body and state of mind! One in four college women have an STD, but only 10% of them know it. Look around your classroom one day…several girls sitting around you will be afflicted with one of these diseases and not even know it! Makes you want to remind all your girlfriends about carrying condoms, doesn’t it? Not only can hooking up increase your chances of being a regular at the gynecologist, but it can depress you too! Having a heat-of-the-moment night may seem like a blast, but what happens if you really like the guy and he doesn’t call? Biologically, women are hardwired with oxytocin to create a bond after intercourse. If this bond is broken, it can make it harder for us to trust guys and still feel good about ourselves.

So many choices, so much to think about.

Are you able to weigh the benefits of your habit with its consequences? Have you found a successful method of changing your ways? Bottom line, do you think indulging in vices today is worth harming your future?

Amy Winehouse gets more press for her cracked-out shenanigans than her songs, and today is no different. The Grammy-winning songbird and drug addict was photographed this morning at the doorway of her London home in a mesh tank top, eating cheese on toast, and sporting a brand-new, mop-top hairdo.  While her hair certainly looks healthier than it did during the days of her iconic, ratty beehive, that’s about all of Amy that’s looking better these days. As she ix-nays the up-do, let’s take a look at the past fashions of Ms. Winehouse:

1. Normal

Natural hair! Flattering makeup! Healthy body weight! Amy looks effortlessly pretty here.

2. Beehive Beautiful

Amy appearing at the Style Awards just a year ago, looking professionally coiffed and chipper. Work it!

3. Looking Like “That Girl”

Skeletal-skinny with her shirt on inside-out, Amy appears to be letting things go. Maybe she should go to rehab…yeah, yeah, yeah.

4. Absolutely Cracked Out

Smeared makeup, dirty face, withered nose, and hair looking more like a bird’s nest than a beehive.  And the coup-de-grace, that braindead expression, solidifies this photo as Amy’s definitive low point.

5. The New ‘Do

The jury is still out on the hair. Personally, I think it makes her look like my grandmother, though it is a step up from that forest-like animal trap she had before. But Amy, dear Amy- please get it together! Wasn’t winning a Grammy so much more fun than sharing cheesy toast with paparazzi?

I have to admit, I’m a huge Starbucks fan, and am usually fine with shelling out a few extra dollars to indulge in something tastier than Folgers. Still, I need a new winter wardrobe… so I’m weaning myself off of overpriced coffee drinks (that taste like dessert) and makin’ my coffee at home.

I know it’s a bold move, but after playing around a bit I have learned a few things: 1) Making your own coffee can save you billions, and 2) It is really, really easy. Here are a few tips:

1. Flavor it Up.

Whenever I make my own coffee, no matter how good the brand, or how carefully I measure the coffee-to-water ratio, it always seems to taste like dirt. My solution? Flavor, flavor, flavor. Syrup, syrup, Equal, syrup. Seriously, who just gets a latte from Starbucks? Everyone has their signature: the Pumpkin Latte, Caramel Macchiato, White Chocolate Mocha…what do they have in common? Manufactured taste. Instead of shelling out $4-$5 a day for Starbucks, buy a bottle of Torani Syrups. This brand is used in tons of coffee shops across the country, so you might not even taste the difference.

2. Be Exotic.

Trading a Mocha Java Frappucino for a cup of Dark Roast isn’t going to fly. If you have money to burn on blended concoctions, you can afford gourmet coffees and still save a fortune by brewing them yourself. If you can’t find any good varieties at the store, surf the net to find your new flave: Coffee Been Direct offers Cookiedoodle, Creme Brulee, and Chocolate Raspberry coffees, to name a few; Papa Nicholas features Chocolate Hazelnut and Toasted Southern Pecan, among others; and FlavoredCoffees.Net has an overwhelming selection, from Cherry Cream to Egg Nog to Chocolate Orange. Bonus: FlavoredCoffees.Net also sells Torani syrups! Just add a splash of 2% milk to your tasty brew and you’ll douse your (high priced) cappuccino cravings.

3. Be Your Own Barista.

The internet is smattered with recipe websites, many of which include jazzy coffee beverages. All you need is Google and a ready mug. AllRecipes.com, for example lists a Cappuccino Mix that you can make for yourself, or give as a low-cost gift. The Culinary Review, meanwhile, has a great recipe for a Homemade Chocolate Mocha that you won’t even have to wait in line for!

Once you get the hang of homemade capps and frapps, you can experiment yourself! Double-brew some coffee grounds and pour the extra-strong coffee over ice for an easy iced coffee (the ice will water it down, so you should start off with stronger brew); or cool a pot to room temp and blend it up for a cheap Frappucino. Pulling an all-nighter? Pour hot coffee over a scoop of your favorite ice cream; you can indulge while you give yourself that extra boost!

4. Go For the Splurge.

If you REALLY don’t think you can substitute your fave Starbucks drink for a plain-jane coffee, invest in your own espresso machine. Yes, it will be pricey, but that one time purchase will still be cheaper than a daily Dunkin Donuts run. You’ll also save time on going out of your way to stop at the shop, and you won’t have to worry about the Barista giving you too much foam.

Nespresso has machines starting at $200, about the cost of a month’s worth of Tall Skinny Lattes, while Whole Latte Love has a decent model for $100. Search espresso machines by price at BizRate.com and find a simple yet classic Italian taste…for ONLY $23!. I’ve spent way over that in ONE DAY on coffee before.

So there you have it – four perfectly good options to start your own coffee service in the privacy of your own apartment or dorm. You’ll acquire a taste for non-Starbucks caffeinated beverages while saving tons of money for some more worthy splurges.

Or, if all else fails, you can save a couple dollars a day by switching to energy drinks, which are usually only about $2 for a giant can. That means you can drink THREE for the price of a venti Chai Tea Latte! Not that I have been known to drink three energy drinks in one day. I mean, that would mean I have a problem. <Cough.>

[For more money-saving tips for the college budget, join CollegeCandy's Facebook group!]

Maybe it was born out of desperation (“I have to think of a way to get my coke fix without whipping a vial out of my nappy hair!”), or boredom (“Doing lines gets really old after a few years…”), but however she cooked up this idea doesn’t matter. Because she did.

Winehouse has recently purchased a cotton candy machine which she fills with her tasty coke/candy concoction.

Seriously, we can’t make this stuff up. We just wonder what tasty mixture she’ll think of next: Crack Fries? Ecstasy lollipops? Heroin hamburgers? Horse tranquilizer milkshakes?

Mmmm. Horse tranquilizer milkshakes….

[Photo courtesy of www.ninjadude.com]