MARQUETTE -- With spring on the horizon, the sun isn't setting on tanning anytime soon.  But the U.P.'s scarce sunlight in the winter has residents flocking to tanning salons to get some color.

"Because we're in a northern climate and we have such a lack of sunlight from October to May, people just need to have sunshine; they crave it," said Utopia Tanning Salon owner Curtis Hewitt.

But just how healthy is this fad?  The topic has heated up into a major controversy.

"There is essentially no such thing as a safe tan," said dermatologist Jennifer Baldwin.  "A tan is a sign of the body trying to protect itself from ultraviolet radiation and the harmful affects that it can lead to."

She says the trendiness of tanned skin impacts young people.

"I have several patients in their late teens, early twenties who have had skin cancer already, and the incidents are increasing in young people.  It kind of parallels the tanning bed use, artificial tanning sun lamps and just the desire to have that look," she said.

She also said tanning beds induce the same addictive biochemical processes associated with smoking and alcoholism, raising endorphins.  Recently, the world health organization declared U.V. radiation as a carcinogen.

Still, there are studies that show that there are significant benefits to artificial tanning booths.  The Smart Tan Network says that five to seven minutes in a booth will give you the vitamin D that's provided in 100 glasses of milk.

"What I tell all the people in regards to tanning is if you abuse it, it's going to have some negative side effects and if you tan moderately, the benefits far outweigh the negatives," Hewitt said.  "If you drink a glass of red wine every night it's good for you, good heart wise; if you drink a bottle of wine every night, you got a problem."

Some alternatives?  Dr. Baldwin recommends self tanning lotions or spray tans like Utopia Tanning's Magic Tan, or if you do choose to tan, do so in moderation.