Indoor tanning

Key messages

• Using indoor tanning beds can increase your risk of skin cancer, including melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. (1-15)

• Using tanning beds before age 20 can increase your chances of developing melanoma by 47%, and the risk increases with each use. (16)

• Women younger than 30 are six times more likely to develop melanoma if they tan indoors, and are also more likely to be diagnosed at younger ages. (17)

• Avoid indoor tanning. If you use or have used tanning beds in the past, you should make an appointment to see a board-certified dermatologist to check your skin for signs of skin cancer.

  • To find a board-certified dermatologist, visit aad.org/findaderm.

Supporting messages

Bridge to these messages by using phrases like: “It’s important to know,” “I want to emphasize,” “Many may not know,” “Let me share what I’ve been seeing.” Build off these messages by leveraging your expertise about this topic.

• More than half of indoor tanners (52.5%) start tanning before age 21, while nearly one-third (32.7%) start tanning before age 18. About 10% of female high school students with lighter skin tones have tanned indoors. (18,19)

• The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer panel have declared ultraviolet radiation from the sun and artificial sources, such as tanning beds and sun lamps, to be a known carcinogen (cancer-causing substance). (20)

• Research indicates that UV light from the sun and tanning beds can both cause melanoma and increase the risk of a benign mole progressing to melanoma. (12,21)

Legislation and regulations

• Policies to regulate indoor tanning have had a positive effect in reducing the number of people who tan. (22)

  • A systematic review determined that youth indoor tanning was less prevalent in states with indoor tanning regulation compared to states without regulation. (23)

• Current U.S. Food and Drug Administration laws and policies on indoor tanning include:

  • Identifying tanning beds and sunlamp products as posing serious health risks.

  • A recommendation against the use of tanning beds by minors under the age of 18.

  • Classifying tanning beds and sunlamps as Class II medical devices, which means manufacturers must provide more safety assurances.

  • Labeling that:

    • Clearly informs users about the risks of using tanning beds.

    • Warns frequent users of sunlamps to be regularly screened for skin cancer.

    • Alerts users that tanning lamps are not recommended for people under 18 years old.

• Learn more about legislation and regulations.

Academy Position Statement on Indoor Tanning

• The AADA opposes indoor tanning and supports a ban on the production and sale of indoor tanning equipment.

• The AADA supports the WHO recommendation that minors should not use indoor tanning equipment because indoor tanning devices emit UVA and UVB radiation and overexposure to UV radiation can lead to the development of skin cancer.

• Unless and until the FDA bans the sale and use of indoor tanning equipment for non-medical purposes, the Academy supports restrictions for indoor tanning facilities, including:

  • No person or facility should advertise the use of any UVA or UVB tanning device using wording such as “safe,” “safe tanning,” “no harmful rays,” “no adverse effects,” or similar wording or concepts.

• Read the Academy’s Position Statement on Indoor Tanning.

Additional Academy resources for the public

References

1. International Agency for Research on Cancer Working Group on artificial ultraviolet l, skin c. The association of use of sunbeds with cutaneous malignant melanoma and other skin cancers: A systematic review. Int J Cancer. Mar 1 2007;120(5):1116-22. doi:10.1002/ijc.22453

2. Lazovich D, Vogel RI, Berwick M, Weinstock MA, Anderson KE, Warshaw EM. Indoor tanning and risk of melanoma: a case-control study in a highly exposed population. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. Jun 2010;19(6):1557-68. doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-09-1249

3. Boniol M, Autier P, Boyle P, Gandini S. Cutaneous melanoma attributable to sunbed use: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. Jul 24 2012;345:e4757. doi:10.1136/bmj.e4757

4. Whitmore SE, Morison WL, Potten CS, Chadwick C. Tanning salon exposure and molecular alterations. J Am Acad Dermatol. May 2001;44(5):775-80. doi:10.1067/mjd.2001.112581

5. Lim HW, James WD, Rigel DS, Maloney ME, Spencer JM, Bhushan R. Adverse effects of ultraviolet radiation from the use of indoor tanning equipment: time to ban the tan. J Am Acad Dermatol. May 2011;64(5):893-902. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2011.03.007

6. Wehner MR, Shive ML, Chren MM, Han J, Qureshi AA, Linos E. Indoor tanning and non-melanoma skin cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMJ. Oct 2 2012;345:e5909. doi:10.1136/bmj.e5909

7. Karagas MR, Stannard VA, Mott LA, Slattery MJ, Spencer SK, Weinstock MA. Use of tanning devices and risk of basal cell and squamous cell skin cancers. J Natl Cancer Inst. Feb 6 2002;94(3):224-6. doi:10.1093/jnci/94.3.224

8. Colantonio S, Bracken MB, Beecker J. The association of indoor tanning and melanoma in adults: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Am Acad Dermatol. May 2014;70(5):847-57 e1-18. doi:10.1016/j.jaad.2013.11.050

9. An S, Kim K, Moon S, et al. Indoor tanning and the risk of overall and early-onset melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancer: systematic review and meta-analysis. Cancers. 2021;13(23):5940.

10. Lazovich D, Vogel RI, Weinstock MA, Nelson HH, Ahmed RL, Berwick M. Association between indoor tanning and melanoma in younger men and women. JAMA dermatology. 2016;152(3):268-275.

11. Ghiasvand R, Rueegg CS, Weiderpass E, Green AC, Lund E, Veierod MB. Indoor Tanning and Melanoma Risk: Long-Term Evidence From a Prospective Population-Based Cohort Study. Am J Epidemiol. Feb 1 2017;185(3):147-156. doi:10.1093/aje/kww148

12. Karapetyan L, Yang X, Wang H, et al. Indoor tanning exposure in association with multiple primary melanoma. Cancer. Feb 15 2021;127(4):560-568. doi:10.1002/cncr.33307

13. Wehner MR, Chren MM, Nameth D, et al. International prevalence of indoor tanning: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Dermatol. Apr 2014;150(4):390-400. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2013.6896

14. O'Sullivan DE, Brenner DR, Demers PA, et al. Indoor tanning and skin cancer in Canada: A meta-analysis and attributable burden estimation. Cancer Epidemiol. Apr 2019;59:1-7. doi:10.1016/j.canep.2019.01.004

15. O'Sullivan DE, Brenner DR, Demers PA, Villeneuve PJ, Friedenreich CM, King WD. Indoor tanning and skin cancer in Canada: A meta-analysis and attributable burden estimation. Cancer Epidemiol. Apr 2019;59:1-7. doi:10.1016/j.canep.2019.01.004

16. An S, Kim K, Moon S, et al. Indoor Tanning and the Risk of Overall and Early-Onset Melanoma and Non-Melanoma Skin Cancer: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Cancers (Basel). Nov 25 2021;13(23)doi:10.3390/cancers13235940

17. Lazovich D, Isaksson Vogel R, Weinstock MA, Nelson HH, Ahmed RL, Berwick M. Association Between Indoor Tanning and Melanoma in Younger Men and Women. JAMA Dermatol. Mar 2016;152(3):268-75. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2015.2938

18. Watson M, Shoemaker M, Baker K. Indoor Tanning Initiation Among Tanners in the United States. JAMA Dermatol. May 1 2017;153(5):470-472. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2016.5898

19. Kann L, McManus T, Harris WA, et al. Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance - United States, 2017. MMWR Surveill Summ. Jun 15 2018;67(8):1-114. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6708a1

20. National Toxicology Program 15th Report on Carcinogens (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service) (2021).

21. Shain AH, Yeh I, Kovalyshyn I, et al. The Genetic Evolution of Melanoma from Precursor Lesions. N Engl J Med. Nov 12 2015;373(20):1926-36. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1502583

22. Rodriguez-Acevedo AJ, Green AC, Sinclair C, van Deventer E, Gordon LG. Indoor tanning prevalence after the International Agency for Research on Cancer statement on carcinogenicity of artificial tanning devices: systematic review and meta-analysis. Br J Dermatol. Apr 2020;182(4):849-859. doi:10.1111/bjd.18412

23. Reimann J, McWhirter JE, Cimino A, Papadopoulos A, Dewey C. Impact of legislation on youth indoor tanning behaviour: A systematic review. Prev Med. Jun 2019;123:299-307. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2019.03.041

Last updated: 12/04/24