A decade-old federal plan to keep teenagers out of tanning beds has been shelved, leaving families and states to make more of those decisions on their own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Food and Drug Administration<\/a> announced the withdrawal in a notice signed by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., secretary of Health and Human Services, on March 16, 2026, disappointing dermatologists who see indoor tanning as a preventable cancer risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The timing has drawn extra attention because online wellness trends have been encouraging people to skip sunscreen<\/a> and build a so-called \u201csun callus<\/a>.\u201d What is a sun callus, really? According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, it is not a recognized medical idea, and a tan or burn is a sign of DNA injury, not protection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The agency first proposed the rule in 2015<\/a>. It would have restricted sunlamp products, including tanning beds and booths, to people age 18 and older and required adult users to sign a risk acknowledgment form before use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The withdrawn proposal also would have required tanning facilities to provide user manuals when asked. In practical terms, it was meant to make indoor tanning less casual, more like a medical-risk decision than a quick beauty stop before prom or vacation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The agency said it had received more than 8,100 public comments. Those comments covered the dangers of ultraviolet radiation, the vulnerability of young people, parental choice, alternatives to sunlamp products and burdens on small businesses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tanning beds work by exposing skin to ultraviolet light. UVA rays go deeper into the skin, while UVB rays burn the outer layers more easily. Either way, the darker color many people want is the skin reacting to damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The FDA says ultraviolet radiation from tanning devices can cause skin cancer, burns, premature aging<\/a> and eye damage. That is the part many teenagers do not see when they are thinking about a dress, a beach photo or a spring-break trip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The International Agency for Research on Cancer<\/a>, part of the World Health Organization, classified ultraviolet-emitting tanning devices as carcinogenic to humans in 2009. Its review also found melanoma risk rose by 75 percent when tanning device use started before age 30.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A study published in Science Advances<\/a> and led by UC San Francisco and Northwestern University looked under the surface, not just at the tan people can see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Researchers reviewed more than 32,000 dermatology patient records and sequenced skin cells<\/a> from 26 donors, including cells from body areas usually covered by clothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The findings were blunt. Tanning bed users had more mutations in their skin cells, and some young users had more genetic damage than people decades older. A. Hunter Shain, one of the senior researchers, said the skin of tanning bed users was \u201criddled with the seeds of cancer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That does not mean every indoor tanner will develop melanoma. But it does help explain why doctors keep saying the risk is not just cosmetic. A tan fades, but some mutations can remain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Age matters because UV damage<\/a> builds up over time. The American Academy of Dermatology<\/a> says using tanning beds before age 20 can raise the chance of developing melanoma by 47 percent, and the risk increases with each use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The broader cancer picture is also sobering. The foundation estimates<\/a> that 234,680 melanoma cases will be diagnosed in the United States in 2026, including 112,000 invasive cases, and that new invasive melanoma diagnoses have risen 46.6 percent over the past decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dr. Clara Curiel-Lewandrowski, who leads dermatology and co-directs the Skin Cancer Institute at the University of Arizona, has treated former tanning bed users with advanced melanoma in their 20s and 30s. She warned that this age group often struggles to see carcinogens as a real threat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without a federal ban, the rules remain uneven. The academy lists more than 20 states and the District of Columbia with under-18 bans, while other states set lower age limits, require parental consent or allow medical exceptions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That patchwork can be confusing for parents and teens. One state may treat indoor tanning like a serious exposure to a known carcinogen, while another may allow it with a signature. That is why dermatologists argue that state-by-state protection leaves gaps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The National Conference of State Legislatures<\/a> describes the same split, noting that some states have strict bans and others use softer rules such as parental consent or accompaniment. At the end of the day, where a teenager lives can shape how much protection they get.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The withdrawal does not make tanning beds safe. FDA labeling still warns that sunlamp products should not be used by people under 18, and the agency continues to identify tanning beds and sunlamps as products that pose serious health risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For families, the practical takeaway is simple. A bronzed look from a machine is not a harmless shortcut, and sunscreen myths can make the danger easier to dismiss. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The official withdrawal notice has been published in the <\/a>Federal Register<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A decade-old federal plan to keep teenagers out of tanning beds has been shelved, leaving families and states to make … <\/p>\nWhat the rule would have done<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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