FDA announces stricter regulations on sunlamps used for tanning

(Image credit: Donald Miralle/Getty Images)

last updated 8 January 2015

Under new regulations, sunlamps used in tanning salons have been reclassified and will be packaged in boxes with warnings about skin cancer, The Washington Post says.

The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday announced that the devices are now considered "moderate risk," an upgrade from "low risk." Because of this new designation, manufacturers must prove to regulators that the product meets certain standards before being marketed. The sunlamps must also now come with a black-box warning telling minors to avoid using the product, and marketing materials will have to discuss cancer risks.

The American Academy of Dermatology's statistics show 2.3 million teenagers visit tanning salons every year, The Post reports, and the risk of developing melanoma increased by 59 percent for those exposed to UV radiation via indoor tanning. "Repeated UV exposure from sunlamp products poses a risk of skin cancer for all users," says Jeffrey Shuren, director of the agency's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, "but the highest risk for skin cancer is in young persons under the age of 18 and people with a family history of skin cancer."

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

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