Feds Push For Cancer Warning Label on Tanning Beds

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently announced that it was moving to reclassify tanning beds and sunlamp products as Class II Medical Devices.

This proposed decision would involve a prominent label being placed on all tanning beds warning teens not to use the tanning beds and notifying all adults that tanning beds can cause cancer.

Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer and indoor tanners are 75 percent more likely to develop the cancer than non-tanners according to the American Academy of Dermatology.

The focus is on preventing teen tanning bed users is because the long term effects of UV ray exposure add up to cause serious medical problems. This means that children and teens who tan while young are more likely to develop cancer later in life.

Federal officials always want to put sunlamps through premarket review and other stringent testing requirements before they are sold to the public.

We believe the reclassification will not only strengthen oversight of sunlamp products, but also will ensure that consumers are better informed about and protected from this sort of exposure, one FDA medical device expert said.

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