Table 4.

Facilitators and barriers to indoor tanning quitting

Themes (N)	Supporting participant quotations
Facilitators
Family/friends (11)	“…I told my husband… that I wasn’t going to do it anymore, and I think he…you know, was very, uh… happy about that. He’s very fair-skinned. So he has, you know, the issues with just, in the sun, too. Whereas, I tan more easily. So, he was very happy about it, you know, just for health concerns and financial reasons as well.” “I mean, my mom has always encouraged me to… not to… not go to tanning beds because um, she’s a nurse and, obviously, probably thinks that, it’s pretty clear that using tanning beds is not good for you (chuckling)… I would say she feels better.” “My husband likes me to be tanned? But when I told him I stopped going, I… I use the self-tanner? The lotions and the sprays now? So, he was happy about that.”
Barriers
Family/friends (3)	“…a few years later, my sister got married, she had said, ‘Well, are you gonna tan for the wedding?’ And I had told her no, because I didn’t believe in the use of them anymore.” “I know every single time that I DO go tanning? I’ll go to work or whatever, and then somebody always comments on it and how much better I look? (Chuckles)… And, uh, how I have sort of a “healthy glow” to me, and, how much… I’ve gotten a lot of comments of how it just… it looks nice?” “I wouldn’t say I felt pressure, um.... I know people that go probably like once a week… once a week or so. Um, and they still really like it. Um, but, and you know, we’d have conversations, like, like, “Gosh, I can’t give it up.” You know?”
Tanning salons (10)	“Um, I don’t remember them calling or sending me emails, but I do remember when… when I tried to cancel? I mean, like, when I walked in to cancel? And I remember feeling a little bit nervous about going IN to cancel? But they DO try to convince you to stay, like, they start… start tellin’ you about new offers. Like, “Oh, we can reduce it by this much, or we can give you this new offer, or we can…” you know? They tried to… they tried really hard to get you to stay. I mean, it’s, it’s hard to cancel. Um, and I was… had to go in there with a bunch of… I mean, because I… I have a hard time with that, and I KNEW that they were gonna try to do that. So I walked in there knowing, like, “Okay, I’m deciding I’m already gonna stop. So, no matter what they say to me, like, I’ve already made my decisions.” And no matter how hard they try you know, “I’m… I’m done.” You know, and so, but they did. They really pressured me, and, and I… the girl… the girl that was tryin’ to get me to stay, she was really pretty, like, like, fresh to me? ‘Cause I’m sure that it affected her, you know, I mean, she probably… I don’t know if it looked bad on her that she couldn’t get me to stay? Um, if it somehow reflected on her, and performance? I don’t know, but, um, but she was like really irritated that I was canceling.” “Yes, received phone calls offering discounts/upgrades to come back.” “I got their usual monthly email with their specials. But I don’t think it was targeted because I had dropped. I think… it was something that I was getting, even while I was a member at the salon.” “Um…no, other than just like flyers in the mail, um, as far as like their specials and whatnot. That’s really all I’ve ever got from them. They never called me or anything to come back, no.” “I mean, I’m just an advocate for not usin’ it, ‘cause, I mean, I think it damages your skin, and they don’t really tell you that a whole lot. When you’re using it, they tell you that it’s good for you (chuckles), so… pretty much, so (chuckles).” “I think the one thing that I think about when you ask me about tanning salons, is just the grave amount of misinformation, and really, lying, that they do to convince customers that it’s safe. And not as harmful as if you lay out in the sun; or, that it’s actually good for. All these different things have ALWAYS bothered me! (Chuckles lightly)…. Um, so that’s something I have run into with several different tanning salons, in the past. I mean, I still remember a classmate of mine, I mean, just everyone seemed to be… sentiment… that actually isn’t as bad as they tell you it is… um, and, I think… I just think an awareness is… there must be a correlation between… um, education level and… ‘cause… you know, so, just being able to understand information, learn your sources…and getting lies about making decisions, I just feel like that’s probably where most of my information about tanning salons come from.”