Too Much Tanning Bed Time Bad for Teens, FDA Warns

Tanning salon operators are not doing enough to limit the amount of time American teens spend bronzing their skin in tanning beds, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

Researchers at San Diego State University recently studied the effect of a recent FDA recommendation that indoor tanning bed operators limit teens to three or less tanning sessions during the first week of tanning. The FDA can’t force tanning bed operators to restrict teens, but the agency recommended doing so.

According to the SDSU study, only 11 percent of tanning bed operators did so and more than 70 percent indicated they would let teens tan every day of the week, a Reuters news report said.

This despite extensive scientific research linking UV radiation exposure from indoor tanning lamps and increased risks of melanoma and squamos cell cancers, the researchers said. In fact, the continuing popularity of the “fake bake” may be to blame for increased melanoma rates among American women between the ages of 15 and 39, the SDSU research team concluded.

Telephone Survey Conducted

For the SDSU study, researchers conducted a telephone survey of more than 3,600 indoor tanning operators located across the United States. A caller pretended to be a light-skinned 15-year-old customer who had not tanned before.

Researchers found that just over one in 10 of the operators indicated they would limit the teen’s tanning to the FDA-recommended three times during the first week. On average, the researcher posing as a teen was told she would be able to tan six days a week, the study said.

State Tanning Law Have Effect

Tanning bed operators located in states with local laws regulating indoor tanning and restricting teen use of the activity tended to require parental consent more than operators in states without such laws on the books, the researchers said.

At least 28 states currently have such laws, but the researchers said more states should consider adopting laws restricting teen access to indoor tanning beds to better educate teens and parents about the health risks of indoor tanning.

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