FDA Panel: New Tanning Bed Restrictions Needed

Pale-Skin Ban, User Registry, User Fees Advised for Tanning Beds
By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Health NewsReviewed by Laura J. Martin, MDMarch 30, 2010 -- A ban on tanning-bed use by people with the palest skin is among several new restrictions recommended by an FDA advisory panel.

Earlier reports from the panel's March 25 meeting focused on its advice to restrict tanning bed use to adults age 18 and older. But that wasn't the only restriction the panel advised the FDA to adopt.

Perhaps the most interesting change would be the panel's recommendation to prohibit the use of tanning beds by people with Fitzpatrick skin type 1. People with this very pale skin type (such as red-haired people with freckles) get sunburns instead of tans when exposed to sunlight or tanning lamps.

The biggest recommended change is the panel's unanimous proposal to change tanning beds' Class I device designation, the least restrictive classification intended for devices that pose minimal risk to users or operators. Elastic bandages and hand-held surgical devices are examples of Class I devices.

Half the panel supported making tanning beds Class II devices, which require special assurances -- such as labeling requirements or mandatory performance standards -- that they will not cause harm. Class II devices include X-ray machines and powered wheelchairs.

The other half of the panel wants tanning beds listed as Class III devices, which not only require special controls such as operator training requirements but require premarket approval by the FDA. Class III devices include implanted pacemakers and silicon breast-augmentation gels.

The panel also recommended other special controls:

Strengthening current requirements for protective eyewear
Equipping tanning beds with mechanisms that prevent their activation until a customer acknowledges reading and accepting a series of warnings about indoor tanning risks
A registry program for all tanning bed users, possibly supported by a user fee
Strengthening requirements for tanning bed operator education, training, testing, and recertification
Collection of data on the irradiance put out by tanning beds, possibly to be included in the user registry
Restricting tanning bed use by pregnant women and by people who take certain drugs or use certain cosmetics that interact with UV light
Even stronger restrictions on tanning beds sold for in-home use
The panel said there was no need to separately regulate tanning beds that are UV-A only, UV-B only, or a mixture of both.

I am no fan of government involvement in health, if you want to die of skin cancer and look orange go for it, the government should have no say. However I am a firm believer in wanrning labels or waivers before people are able to do it. It won't change anything but at least people will know what they are getting themselves into. On a personal non scientific note- Tanning is stupid I've never thought a girl was attractive due to her skin tone, If you want to work on your appearance why don't you start by making an effort to exercise, then if you really dont think thats enough develop a personality instead of bieng orange and shallow.