New FDA Regulations Would Bar Tanning Bed Use for Anyone Under 18

To reduce skin cancer risks in younger people, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed a ban on the use of tanning beds by anyone under 18. Health experts call this a major step toward reducing the risk of skin cancer.

Indoor tanning has not been seen as a significant factor in skin cancer rates, but recent evidence indicates that tanning beds play a greater role in cancer risk than previously thought, the New York Times reports. Research published in the last year estimates that tanning beds account for up to 400,000 cases of skin cancer annually, including 6,000 cases of melanoma, which is the deadliest form of the disease.

The FDA’s proposed regulations—which will be open for public comment for 90 days—also contain provisions to require tanning bed manufacturers to make warning labels more prominent and easier to read and to have an emergency shut-off switch on the tanning bed. The regulations would require indoor tanning facilities to ensure that people using tanning beds use protective eyewear during tanning sessions.

Rates for many types of cancer have been on the decline, but melanoma rates have continued to rise about 3 percent a year in the last twenty years, the Times reports. The incidence rate of melanoma in women under 40 has risen by about a third since the early 1990s, according to data from the National Cancer Institute. Health experts are concerned that tanning beds, which are especially popular among young women, are a significant contributor to the rise.

Some states have already imposed their own bans on indoor tanning for minors, but tanning beds are still widely available to minors in most states, according to the Times. The FDA gives an estimate of 18,000 to 19,000 tanning salons nationwide; tanning beds also available in gyms, spas, hotels, and on college campuses. In Florida, there are more tanning salons than McDonald’s restaurants, CVS stores, or Bank of America branches, University of Miami researchers found.

Dr. Jeffrey E. Gershenwald, a professor of surgery and medical director of the Melanoma and Skin Center at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, described the proposed restriction as “a tremendous advance.” FDA spokesman Eric Pahon said the agency would enforce the ban through state authorities. Among the enforcement measures the FDA might employ are seizure of tanning beds, civil penalties and fines, or criminal prosecution.

Health experts say the FDA proposal is needed because young people are at greatest risk for serious consequences from indoor tanning. According to the Times, indoor tanning increases the overall risk of melanoma by 20 percent, but the risk increases by 59 percent for anyone who uses a tanning bed at all before age 35. According to a 2013 federal youth health survey, about 1.6 million minors use indoor tanning facilities every year. Government data also shows that those who turn to tanning beds tend to use them frequently. Data on tanning among high school students has been collected only since 2009, but it shows that more than half of those who used tanning beds had used them 10 or more times in the past year.

 

 

 

from Parker Waichman http://www.yourlawyer.com/blog/new-fda-regulations-would-bar-tanning-bed-use-for-anyone-under-18/