RFK Jr withdraws proposal banning teens from tanning beds as skin experts warn of cancer risks

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has withdrawn a proposal to ban teens from using tanning beds as skin experts warn of the cancer risks associated with the beds’ ultraviolet light.

Using tanning beds can triple a person’s risk of melanoma, a skin cancer often linked to sun exposure, according to experts. It also matters when sun damage happens. Those who first use a tanning bed before age 35 years increase their risk for melanoma by 75 percent, the Skin Cancer Foundation has noted.

Despite these worrying statistics, Kennedy decided in March to withdraw a rule first proposed by the Food and Drug Administration in 2015 that would have banned minors from using tanning beds.

“This is an age group that has a very hard time assessing risk. At that age, they don’t view carcinogens as a real threat,” Dr. Clara Curiel-Lewandrowski, chair of dermatology and co-director of the Skin Cancer Institute at the University of Arizona, told the Los Angeles Times.

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Curiel-Lewandrowski has treated many patients with advanced melanoma who used tanning beds and she said they were filled with regret.

Along with a ban for those under 18 years of age, the proposed rule would’ve required adults to sign a form acknowledging the risk of cancer and other health effects from using a tanning bed.

The FDA had received more than 8,000 public comments on the proposed rule from medical professionals to industry experts. The comments discussed the dangers of UV radiation as well as support for parental decision-making.

Kennedy vaguely said his decision was based on “the scientific and technical concerns raised in the comments…concerns regarding possible unintended consequences of certain proposals in the Proposed Rule, and potential alternatives proposed in comments” in a letter announcing the withdrawal.

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The proposal was withdrawn to “reconsider the best means for addressing the issues covered by the Proposed Rule and related issues regarding access to sunlamp products,” the health secretary said.

The Independent has reached out to the Health and Human Services Department for comment.

Dr. Deborah S. Sarnoff, president of the Skin Cancer Foundation, looked on the bright side of the failed proposal, telling the LA Times, “We made the public very aware of this issue, and this fight is far from over. We won’t be satisfied until tanning beds are banned in this country.”

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Rates of annual melanoma diagnosis have ticked up by 46.6 percent over the past decade, according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.

Kennedy's withdrawal of the proposed tanning bed ban for minors comes as followers of his Make America Healthy Again embrace regular unprotected sun exposure as part of their wellness routine, the LA Times reported.

Just 20 states plus Washington, D.C., have their own regulations banning people under 18 from using tanning beds, the Skin Cancer Foundation said.

Several countries — Australia, Brazil and Iran — have outright banned indoor tanning.

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