With skin cancer on the rise and tanning beds seen as a culprit, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is doing the nation a favor by proposing to bar anyone under age 18 from soaking up indoor rays.
The FDA announced the plan recently, saying it would work with states to enforce its rules if enacted after 90 days of public comments. Not only would the agency restrict the use of tanning beds and booths to adults only, but patrons would have to sign a statement saying they have been informed about the health risks. The FDA also wants tanning bed makers and facilities to increase the safety of their equipment, such as reducing the amount of light that is allowed through protective eyewear during tanning and requiring sunlamps to have an emergency shutoff switch for customers.
Other organizations share the FDA’s less-than-sunny view. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that indoor tanning leads to more than 3,000 emergency room visits each year, with about 13 percent of them involving minors. The American Academy of Dermatology estimates that those who have experienced indoor tanning are 59 percent more likely to develop melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, than people who have not been under a sunlamp. Obviously that means the earlier the exposure, the greater the health hazard.
As a result, some states have set their own restrictions on indoor tanning, particularly as it affects minors. At least nine states bar people younger than 18 from commercial tanning salons. Pennsylvania passed a ban in 2014 on anyone younger than 16 from using a tanning salon unless medically necessary; 17-year-olds must have a parent’s written permission.
But the evidence of health damage from indoor tanning is too overwhelming to leave regulation up to the states. A rule from the FDA would alert all Americans — adults and teenagers — to the dangers. It’s time for lights out on sunlamps.
Editorial by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
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