FDA proposes tanning bed ban for minors

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has taken an important step closer to disallowing anyone under 18 years of age from indoor tanning devices and sun lamps.

The health regulators also proposed changes by the manufacturers and facilities that are providing indoor tanning facilities, to improve standards and safety of the devices.

When announcing the proposal, an FDA spokesperson called tanning beds “a known, and preventable cause of skin cancer”.

An increasing number of youngsters are known to be regularly using tanning devices, resulting in an alarming increase in the annual numbers in skin cancer rates.

Exposure to the sun is already a risk factor for melanoma – add to that the fact that tanning beds are 10 to 15 times more intense than the midday sun, and it’s easy to see why the health community is concerned about these contraptions. The form will have to be signed prior to their first session at any given time location, followed by a repeat signature every 6 months. The proposal also states that the users of tanning beds will be required to sign a contract form acknowledging the health risks of using such radiation-emitting devices.

Vasum Peiris, chief medical officer of pediatrics and special populations in the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health said that they want to make sure adolescents are protected from this, and that’s why they’re taking the actions they are today. As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 3,000 emergency department room visits take place owing to injuries related to indoor tanning every year in the United States.

The FDA has been gradually ratcheting up the warnings on tanning beds and lamps. Many cases are of course inevitable and have nothing to do with UV exposure, but for those who shun official health warnings and find themselves facing a devastating disease, positive action can prove to be too little too late.

“As medical doctors who diagnose and treat skin cancer, dermatologists are committed to reducing its incidence and saving lives”, he said.

“Indoor tanning is created to give you high levels of UV radiation in a very short time”, he explained.

Salon operators who violate the new rule could be punished by seizure of tanning beds, civil penalties and even prosecution.

“The FDA understands that some adults may decide to continue to use sunlamp products”, Commissioner Stephen Ostroff said.

There is no scientific doubt about the dangers of indoor tanning.

“We commend the FDA for educating the public about the dangers of exposure to harmful ultraviolet radiation and restricting use for our nation’s youth”.

Previous year the FDA began to require warnings on tanning beds advising minors to not use them, reports the Associated Press, which also reports that the agency has regulated tanning machines for several decades, but until recently had not attempted to restrict their use.