On the heels of the World Health Organization’s listing of tanning beds as a definitive cause of cancer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is debating how they can best toughen warnings about the use of this popular artificial tanning method, which emits ultraviolet radiation that can cause melanoma, a serious form of skin cancer.
Though the FDA has long dubbed tanning beds a non-threatening “Class I device” – a category that includes low-risk medical devices – the organization recently decided that the labels on the beds that warn users of the risk of developing skin cancer with continued use are not visible enough nor do they fully stress the potential results of such repetitive tanning. They are particularly concerned with the number of young people that tan on a regular basis, some as young as 10- or 11-years-old.
Indeed, the risks of tanning are many, notes the FDA. The major threat is melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer, which is caused when dangerous ultra-violet rays, such as those emitted from the lamps in a tanning bed, damage the DNA in skin cells, causing the skin to grow abnormally and prompting growths to develop. These rays also weaken the immune system, which limits the body’s ability to fight cancer cells. In addition to melanoma, tanning can cause less-serious basal and squamous cell carcinomas, premature aging, cataracts or photokeratitis (corneal “sunburn”), and actinic, a pre-cancerous skin condition.
In March, the agency will open a public hearing that will explore the option of stricter regulations for tanning, which will include tougher warnings and the reclassification of tanning beds to a category higher than Class I. The Indoor Tanning Association vows to fight any such legislation, arguing that there is no scientific research that backs the change. Spokespersons for the organization claim it is easier to overdo tanning outside in the sun than in a tanning studio.
Still, the FDA maintains that nearly 69,000 cases of melanoma are diagnosed in the U.S. each year and that more than 8,500 people die of the disease annually. Whereas the disease used to be largely limited to those over 50, these days, doctors are diagnosing the disease in young people who have habitual tanning habits.
The risk of developing melanoma cancer from tanning can be likened to the development of mesothelioma caused by asbestos. Many individuals who developed mesothelioma after working with asbestos were never sufficiently warned of the dangers of exposure. The result of this lack of information was the development of a myriad of asbestos-related diseases, including cancer, among those who worked regularly with the toxic mineral.
Like the UV rays released by tanning bed lamps, the fibers released by asbestos were a silent killer. Often, the results of asbestos exposure would remain unknown for decades because mesothelioma remains latent in the body for up to 50 years, and it isn’t until it is much too late for successful treatment that the disease surfaces. Though advances have been made in mesothelioma research, the disease still results in death within a year or two of diagnosis.
