Tanning Beds Are Feeling the Heat from Health Officials

An FDA advisory panel this week recommended that children and teens should be kept from using tanning beds, or at least should have parents sign a consent form informing them of the health risks involved. According to Web MD, "The 16-member panel seemed likely to advise the FDA to list tanning beds as Class 2 devices, which require special assurances, such as labeling requirements or mandatory performance standards, that they will not cause harm. Class 2 devices include X-ray machines and powered wheelchairs."

The move comes after the World Health Organization also issued a stern rebuke of tanning beds, moving the devices into its highest cancer-risk category, which comes with the lovely-sounding label "carcinogenic to humans." The organization said there was overwhelming evidence linking tanning beds' UV rays to the deadly skin cancer melanoma. The WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer conducted research in 2006, " finding the use of tanning beds before age 30 to be associated with a 75% increase in melanoma risk. A separate study reported last July by researchers from the National Institutes of Health found that melanoma rates among young women in the United States almost tripled between 1973 and 2004," according to Web MD. The American Academy of Dermatology estimates that of the 30 million Americans who hit tanning beds each year, about 2.3 million are teenagers.

The new FDA recommendations could produce changes in laws - in fact, some health officials think teens should be banned from tanning altogether, in the same way people aren't allowed to smoke until they turn 18. Right now, tanning salons and other gyms, spas, etc. that provide tanning are so easy to come by that a San Diego State study even found that in certain areas, tanning is easier to come by than a Starbucks. In addition to a crackdown from the FDA, the new health care overhaul that passed recently also includes provisions discouraging tanning. As CNN explains, "To help fund the $940 billion health care overhaul, a 10% tax on individuals receiving indoor tanning services was tacked on, and the initiative is expected to generate $2.7 billion over ten years." The tax was quickly nicknamed the "Jersey Shore tax," after the MTV reality show in which the castmembers adhere to a strict regiment called "gym, tan, laundry" before hitting the clubs. Originally, the health care bill included a 5 percent tax on cosmetic surgery procedures, but was replaced with the tanning tax after heavy lobbying from the medical industry.

Photo credit: Beax