Dem pushes for age limits on tanning beds

Democratic Rep. Carolyn Maloney (N.Y.) is calling for the Food and Drug Administration to ban anyone under the age of 18 from using a tanning bed.

The FDA requires every bed have a label explaining the risks to those under the age of 18, but the agency has yet to issue any age restrictions.

“That’s an important first step, “Maloney said in a news release. “Yet given the known health risks tanning beds present, especially to minors, along with the steep climb in skin cancer rates we’ve seen over the last two decades, children really shouldn’t be allowed to use these devices.”

{mosads}Maloney first called for the age limit in a letter to the FDA in June. The agency responded in November saying that an age rule had been submitted to the Office of Management and Budget for review but no action had been taken yet.

Maloney has long fought for stronger protections against tanning beds. Her TAN Act, which required manufacturers to include warnings in their marketing materials and show that their beds meet performance-testing requirements, passed as part of the FDA’s Amendments Act of 2007.

In 2013, she formed the Congressional Skin Cancer Caucus, which she co-chairs with Reps. Charlie Dent (R-Pa.), Jim Cooper (D-Tenn.) and David Joyce (R-Ohio).

Tanning beds emit ultraviolet radiation, which increases the risk of developing skin cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute. Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is linked to getting severe sunburns, especially at a young age.