Congressional Call for Better Warnings About Skin Cancer and Tanning Beds is Renewed

WASHINGTON, DC – A bipartisan group of lawmakers are reintroducing legislation in both the U.S. House and Senate intended to give Americans better warning about the cancer risks associated with the use of tanning beds. The Tanning Accountability and Notification Act (TAN Act, H.R. 945) would direct the Food and Drug Administration to re-examine the warning label on tanning beds with the purpose of ensuring that it most effectively communicates the risk of skin cancer and other serious skin conditions.

The version sponsored by Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) and Ginny Brown-Waite (R-FL) in the House was introduced this week, and Sens. Jack Reed (D-RI) and Johnny Isakson (R-GA) plan to introduce a version in the Senate shortly. The TAN Act is supported by the American Academy of Dermatology.

“The warnings on tanning beds should clearly get the message across, just as the warnings on cigarette packs do,” said Maloney. “I’ve heard from tanning bed users who were unaware of the serious cancer risks, which is why I believe the current warning isn’t doing it’s job. Using a tanning bed is not safer than tanning under the sun, and Americans need to be fully informed.”

“Millions of Americans use tanning beds each year,” said Brown-Waite. “How many of them are aware of the potentially severe consequences of excessive tanning?  Updating and strengthening the warning labels on tanning beds is necessary if we want consumers to be properly educated about the serious healthcare risks.”

“We have been very successful in making the public aware of the carcinogenic risks posed by cigarettes.  However, many people remain unaware that these same types of risks exist through the usage of tanning devices.  It is essential that the FDA study the effectiveness of public warnings so that people are able to make informed decisions when choosing to tan indoors,” said Reed.  “It is my hope that we can follow the lead of states like Rhode Island that have taken positive steps to increase public awareness of the dangers of indoor tanning devices.”

“Indoor tanning equipment emits ultraviolet radiation which has been declared a known carcinogen by the Department of Health and Human Services.  In addition, the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization discourage the use of indoor tanning equipment because of its cancer-causing affects,” stated Washington, DC-based dermatologist Sandra I. Read, MD, member of the board of directors of the American Academy of Dermatology (Academy).  “With the number of skin cancer cases rising in this country each year, especially among young adults, the Academy supports this effort to ensure that the current warning labels attached to indoor tanning devices are accurately and fully conveying the adverse events and risks to those using the equipment.”                                                                                                                                      

The TAN Act would require FDA to conduct consumer testing to determine the appropriateness of the current labeling requirements for indoor tanning beds. It also would require FDA to hold public hearings, solicit comments from the public and report to Congress the determinations it makes in the study. 

Background

Last February, Maloney and Brown-Waite first introduced the TAN Act

They also called for hearings last spring

Statistics

• According to the American Academy of Dermatology, 70% of tanning bed users are women between the ages of 16 and 49.
• The American Cancer Society estimates that this year more than 1 million people are expected to be diagnosed with skin cancers, which is associated with exposure to ultra-violet light.
• A person’s chances of getting invasive melanoma are 1 in 63.
• A person’s chances of getting melanoma (both invasive and in situ) are 1 in 33.
• One American dies of melanoma every 65 minutes.

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