IMNG Medical Media, 2013 Dec 02, MA Otto News December 03, 2013

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Although efforts to keep minors out of tanning salons are gaining momentum, there’s still a need for dermatologists, pediatricians, and others to advocate for legislation and educate patients – especially teens and their parents – about melanoma and other tanning risks, according to a review of the issue in the December 2013 issue of Seminars in Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery.

“Even though many medical professionals, patients, and legislators agree with and support the passage of legislation to ban or limit tanning in minors and/or the general population, it is often difficult for laws to be successfully enacted” because of ignorance of the risks, tanning industry opposition, and “social norms … which regard tanned skin as more attractive,” wrote Dr. Teresa Foo, a preventive medicine resident at the Colorado School of Public Health in Aurora, and Dr. Robert Dellavalle, chief of the dermatology service at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Denver.

However, the researchers expressed hope that, as with tobacco use, “legislation limiting indoor tanning will help to change social norms and reduce usage” (Sem. Cut. Med. Surg. 2013;32:217-23).

In recent years, 35 states have enacted measures to curb child and teen access to tanning beds, with efforts ranging from outright bans for those younger than 17 or 18 years to parent consent requirements, written customer warnings, advertising restrictions, and limits on exposure time. Still, enforcement can be spotty, laws are inconsistent from one state to the next, and some states have no laws related to indoor tanning and minors.

The federal government has worked on the issue, as well. The Food and Drug Administration is considering reclassifying sunlamps as moderate risk, instead of low risk, and the Federal Trade Commission has placed restrictions on tanning promotional materials. The Affordable Care Act also put a 10% excise tax on indoor tanning, which is being passed on to consumers and causing some to shy away. A federal ban, however, seems a long way off.

“In the United States, the lack of coordination of statewide efforts and the lack of a strong national statement regarding the harms of indoor tanning may be slowing the success of legislation to ban tanning for minors,” the authors noted. There remains a “need for strong legislation with the inclusion of specific enforcement policies and penalties. … The more strict the legislation, the less chance of misinterpretation or improper compliance by tanning facilities,” they said.

“Dermatologists and other health care providers need to become patient advocates and discuss the harms of indoor tanning with patients, especially teens and their parents. It is essential for dermatologists and the medical profession as a whole to continue to educate legislators and the public regarding the harms of indoor tanning and the need for legislation to protect not just our teenagers, but also the general population,” the investigators emphasized.

Realistic goals, building relationships with local medical organizations, and finding bipartisan bill sponsors will likely aid legislative efforts. Melanoma advocacy groups, school-based teacher and parent groups, and state and national organizations will likely lend a hand, as well, they added.

This work was supported in part by grant number D33HP02610 to the University of Colorado Preventive Medicine Residency Program from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of HRSA.