FDA to study effectiveness of tanning bed warnings.

The Food and Drug Administration soon will begin to scrutinize the warning labels on tanning beds, under a new federal law signed by the president in late September.

The Tanning Accountability and Notification Act was included in the Food and Drug Administration Amendments Act of 2007. Four members of Congress--Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), and Rep. Ginny Brown-Waite (R-Fla.)--originally sponsored the TAN Act.

Under the new law, the FDA is being directed to determine if the label is positioned correctly, whether it gives sufficient risk data, whether alternative warnings would better communicate risks, or if there is no warning that could communicate the risk of using tanning beds adequately.

To reach those determinations, the law requires the FDA to conduct tests with consumers; the agency is to issue a report by September 2008.

The American Academy of Dermatology Association applauded the passage of the TAN Act.

"The current labeling on tanning equipment inadequately explains the serious risks associated with indoor tanning," said AAD president Dr. Diane R. Baker in a statement. "The TAN Act is the first step to correct this and ultimately will help educate the millions of Americans who tan each day about the potential cancer risks associated with ultraviolet radiation."

AAD estimates that 30 million Americans use tanning beds each year, and that 2.3 million are teenagers. The Indoor Tanning Association does not have exact figures, but said the industry estimates that at least 25 million Americans are indoor tanners.

John Overstreet, executive director of the association, said that requiring the FDA to study new warnings is not necessary.

The current warning--which was devised by the FDA--is very detailed and blunt, Mr. Overstreet said in an interview. "With all the challenges facing FDA and all they have to do, this seems a little unnecessary," he said, adding that the industry believes that the AAD and other organizations exaggerate the dangers of UV radiation.

The American Medical Association has continued to support the strengthening of state and local laws to regulate indoor tanning more stringently, including toughening the warnings posted in salons and spas.

Dr. Jessica Krant, an AMA alternate delegate representing the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, said that passage of the bill means that Congress recognizes that teenagers still are being exposed to unnecessary risks from tanning. "I think it's the first step and a very good and important change," she said in an interview.

But the AMA and the ASDS both feel that the current warnings--created in the 1970s--need to be updated and placed more prominently in tanning beds, said Dr. Krant, also of State University of New York, Brooklyn.

BY ALICIA AULT

Associated Editor, Practice Trends