FDA wants to ban minors and teenagers from using indoor tanning beds.
The Food and Drug Administration is working on a bill regarding the use of indoor tanning beds by young adults and teens. Feds said no tanning beds for minors, as the skin cancer incidence in young adults has increased by 3 percent within a few years.
The bill proposed by the FDA will have the capacity of impacting both tanning bed manufacturers and owners. The health association is urging the manufacturers to improve on safety measures and to make sure that each device has prominent labeling, displaying the side effects of using the device.
Moreover, it would seem that the proposed bill entails, more aspects. According to its contents, the use of protective goggle during tanning session will be mandatory and those who are interested in booking a session must fill out a consent form, in which he or she acknowledges the health issues involved.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, by using an indoor tanning bed, a person’s chances of developing melanoma increases by 59 percent. That’s because the device is designed to deliver high doses of ultra-violet radiation in a very short amount of time.
Among the measures proposed the new bill are included mandatory eye protection, prominent labeling, signed consent every 6 months and visible labeling to ensure that the replacement bulbs are changed correctly. Moreover, it would seem that the manufacturers will be indebted to install a panic button inside the tanning bed.
Feds said no to tanning beds for minors and are moving ahead of banning everyone under 18 years-old from using such a device. According to several medical reports, it would seem that tanning beds are responsible for several types of cancer including melanoma, squamous cell carcinoma, and basal cell carcinoma.
Furthermore, it would seem that WHO’s cancer wing has reprioritized the list of devices with high cancer risk. Thus, tanning beds have climbed to the top of the list, making them the most dangerous devices when it comes to cancer risks.
Now, in terms of tanning, according to a recent statistic, it would seem that more than 1.6 million teenagers make use of this hazardous tanning method.
Doctors from all around the country are applauding FDA’s initiative and are looking forward to seeing some result in terms of skin cancer incidence. According to several projections, the rate of melanoma has increased by 3 percent each year.
With the bill entering in its final stages before being enforce, the public has approximately 90 days to comment on the bill.
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