FDA Teen Indoor Tanning Ban

© Provided by USA Today

Children and teens under age 18 would be banned from using indoor tanning beds and sunlamps under proposed regulations released by the Food and Drug Administration Friday.

The FDA also wants adult users to sign stronger consent forms before using the devices, which it says can cause skin cancer, burns and eye damage.

"Today's action is intended to help protect young people from a known and preventable cause of skin cancer and other harms," acting FDA Commissioner Stephen Ostroff said in a statement. "Individuals under 18 years are at greatest risk of the adverse health consequences of indoor tanning."

Dermatologists immediately applauded the proposal, which comes about 18 months after the FDA put new warning labels on the devices used by millions of people each year at tens of thousands of tanning salons, health clubs and other facilities. About 1.6 million of those users are minors, FDA says.

Mark Lebwohl, president of the American Academy of Dermatology, called the proposed rules "a monumental step to protect the public's health."

Under the proposal, adults would have to sign forms saying they understand the health risks. Indoor tanners are 59% more likely than non-users to develop melanoma, the most dangerous form of skin cancer, according to the dermatology academy.

The proposed  regulations also would require new safety features, including easier-to-read warnings and emergency shut-off "panic buttons."

Indoor tanning operators have, in the past, opposed efforts to restrict their businesses and said that dangers are exaggerated

The public has 90 days to comment.