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An advisory panel recommended to the Food and Drug Administration last month that a ban on the use of tanning beds by anyone under the age of 18 be implemented. They stated that tanning beds are classified as class I medical devices which puts them in the same category as tongue depressors and elastic bandages which allows for very little over-site and regulation.
The American Academy of Dermatology has taken a strong stance against the use of tanning beds stating that skin cancer used to be a disease of older men but now it is becoming more common in young women in their teens and twenties. The exact sex and age group using tanning beds the most.
The tanning bed industry was well represented at the meeting saying that they were already well regulated and that there is much misinformation about tanning beds and their dangers. Other recommendations concerning the use and regulation of tanning beds were also suggested. The FDA doesn’t have to take the advisory groups recommendations but they usually do. I guess that there are still plenty of smokers and cigarette industry reps who claim that there is no evidence that cigarette smoking causes lung cancer. bjmdjd
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American Academy of Dermatology · Food and Drug Administration · tanning beds and skin cancer
