According to the World Health Organization (WHO), tanning devices pose as much of a cancer risk as smoking cigarettes.
To help quell the use of these devices by youth, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed regulations that would prohibit such devices from being used by minors younger than 18. Proposed regulations would also require stronger statements on the warning labels and mandate that anyone using the devices sign a form every six months saying they are aware of the dangers associated with them.
"The FDA’s long-awaited tanning device proposals are an important step that will help to reduce skin cancer diagnoses and deaths," according to a statement from the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network (ACS-CAN). "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. Indoor tanning devices are not safe: those who use sunbeds before age 35 increase their lifetime risk of melanoma, the deadliest type of skin cancer, by 59 percent."
The ACS-CAN also urged the FDA to "quickly finalize the regulations reflecting the true danger of exposure, so consumers young and old think twice before engaging in unhealthy activity."
