2008-09 Fact Book: The State Of The Industry Report

“This shows a new legislative attitude toward the regulation of business,” says John Overstreet, executive director of the Indoor Tanning Association (ITA). “The passage of the TAN Act should serve as a wake-up call for the entire industry, reminding us that there is a very powerful national lobby whose goal is to first ban teens from tanning and, ultimately, to shut down the industry. This means that we have to redouble our efforts and make sure policymakers hear both sides of the story.”

However, Overstreet also points out that the passage of the TAN Act hasn’t really changed the way the FDA oversees tanning equipment warning labels.

“For all the hype coming out of the dermatologists and other proponents, the TAN Act is a pretty benign piece of legislation,” he says. “It doesn’t give the FDA any new authority—it simply instructs the agency to review the warning label, which is the authority it already has.”

California AB 105 was signed into law in 2007 by Gov. Schwarzenegger and went into effect Jan. 1, 2008. The bill—which sought to raise the minimum tanning age from 14 to 18—only incrementally increased regulation on California’s indoor tanning industry, thanks to the efforts of the Indoor Tanning Association (ITA), the California Indoor Tanning Trade Organization (CITTO) and tanning salon owners and operators statewide.

The current version of the bill reaffirms the minimum age to tan with a few minor amendments, including the requirement of new signage in tanning salons and a mandate that additional warnings be added to the written client disclosure form.

Those additional warnings are: (a) any person with skin that always burns easily and never tans should avoid an ultraviolet tanning device; and (b) any person with a family history or past medical history of skin cancer should avoid an ultraviolet tanning device.

Additionally, proof of age is required for 14-to 17-year-olds, and the parent or guardian can withdraw their approval at any time.

New European tanning regulations went into effect July 23, 2007. The European Commission of Health and Consumer Services approved the overly protective law, mandating that the erythema weighted irradiance of tanning beds cannot exceed 0.3W/m^2.

This means that the tanning exposure time schedule, which has been reduced due to the evolution of more powerful lamps, needs to be amended and exposure schedules increased to the 20-minute range. The new rules require all tanning equipment manufacturers to make future beds and standups to meet these regulations. Tanning units already in the market will have to change their lamps, filter glass, ballasts and other secondary components to be in compliance.

Some industry insiders question whether the U.S. dermatology community will make a concerted attempt to force the FDA to adopt the European standards.

Fortunately, the FDA’s Erythemal Action Spectrum (EAS) has served the clients of indoor tanning salons in the United States well since 1986 and the industry has a good safety record. Based upon 15 years of data received from the FDA, there was only one complaint made for every 100 million commercial indoor tanning sessions. One reason the U.S. safety record is so exemplary is because of the high degree of professionalism exhibited by the owners/operators of commercial indoor tanning salons.