Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) position statement: ban indoor tanning for minors

Our plain-English summary of Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM) position statement: ban indoor tanning for minors, by S. Pagoto, J. Hillhouse, C.J. Heckman, et al (Translational Behavioral Medicine, 2014).

The study

• Authors: S. Pagoto, J. Hillhouse, C.J. Heckman, E.J. Coups, J. Stapleton, D. Buller, R. Turrisi, J. Robinson, A.C. Geller
• Journal: Translational Behavioral Medicine
• Published: 2014;4(1):124-6
• Cited by: 10 articles, as counted by NIH iCite
• Read it: PubMed · Publisher · Free full text

Abstract

The Society of Behavioral Medicine (SBM), an interdisciplinary professional organization focused on the science of health behavior joins the American Academy of Dermatology, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and a host of other national and international organizations in support of a total ban on indoor tanning for minors under the age of 18. According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, artificial sources of ultraviolet radiation are in the highest category of carcinogens, joining tobacco and asbestos. Strong evidence links indoor tanning to increased risk for melanoma with repeated exposure during childhood being associated with the greatest increase in risk. Several countries and five US states have passed legislation banning indoor tanning in minors. We strongly encourage the remaining US states to do the same in an effort to protect children and prevent new cases of melanoma. SBM also strongly encourages research that explores the use of tanning beds in the home. Home-based indoor tanning has the potential to be especially dangerous given the complete absence of safety regulations. Children are currently protected from exposure to health-harming substances like tobacco and lead; thus, legislation protecting them from artificial sources of ultraviolet radiation is yet another important step forward in improving public health.

In plain English

This article is a position statement from the Society of Behavioral Medicine. It is not a study of asbestos and reported no new research data. Asbestos appeared only as a comparison: the authors noted that the International Agency for Research on Cancer places artificial ultraviolet radiation in the same highest category of human carcinogens as tobacco and asbestos. The statement supported a complete ban on indoor tanning for minors under 18. In support, the authors cited other researchers' work. One was an Australian case-control study in which adults under 40 who had 10 or more lifetime indoor tanning sessions had a twofold increase in melanoma risk compared with people who had never tanned indoors. Another was a study of 200 salons in Minnesota and Massachusetts in which 15-year-old girls posing as customers without parental consent were sold a tanning visit at 81 percent of the salons visited. The authors stated that, as of June 2013, 15 US states had age-restriction bans, five of them covering all minors. The authors concluded that current restrictive measures had been ineffective.

We wrote this plain-English summary from the full article with the help of AI, and a second AI model checked each sentence against the article. It is not the authors' wording; the abstract and the article are their own account.

What the study did and found

• Design: Position statement (policy statement) of a professional organization; no original research
• Who was studied: No study population. The statement concerns minors under 18 and is addressed to US states and other organizations.
• Exposure: Artificial ultraviolet radiation from indoor tanning. Asbestos was not studied; it is mentioned only as another agent in the same International Agency for Research on Cancer carcinogen category.
• Main results:
  • Cited from another study (not this article's own data): in an Australian case-control study, adults under 40 with 10 or more lifetime indoor tanning sessions had a twofold increase in melanoma risk by that age, compared with people who had never tanned indoors.
  • Cited from another study: in a study of 200 salons in Minnesota and Massachusetts, 15-year-old girls posing as customers with no parental consent were sold a tanning visit at 81 % of salons visited.
  • Cited from another study: among 308 salon owners surveyed in Illinois, 74 % reported no reduction in clients as a result of the federal 10 % tanning tax.
  • As reported by the authors, as of June 2013, 15 US states had age-restriction bans, and five of these restricted all minors.
• The authors' conclusion: The authors concluded that the health hazards of indoor tanning are serious and that current restrictive measures, such as parental consent laws, have been ineffective. They therefore supported a complete ban for minors under 18.

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