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FDA Seeks To Issue Ban On Indoor Tanning For Teens

The FDA is proposing an indoor tanning ban for teens under age 18, citing cancer risks (Photo: for USA TODAY)

By Kim Painter, USAToday, SouthFloridaReporter.com, Dec. 19, 2015 – Tanning beds will be off limits for teenagers and children if the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has its way.

Proposed regulations made public Friday by the FDA would ban children under 18 from patronizing indoor tanning facilities and would require adult customers to sign strongly-worded new consent forms every six months.The FDA says tanning beds and sun lamps can cause skin cancer, burns and eye damage.

The public has 90 days to comment on the new rules. After that, the FDA could make them official.

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

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

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