FDA pulls proposed rule banning teens from using tanning beds

Summary: The FDA just dropped a 2015 proposed rule that would have banned kids under 18 from using indoor tanning beds. Tanning beds are incredibly dangerous—they can blast you with up to 15 times more UV radiation than the sun! This damages your DNA and acts as a cancer-causing chemical, in the exact same category as tobacco and asbestos. Using a tanning bed before you turn 20 increases your chance of getting melanoma (a deadly skin cancer) by almost 50%.

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. signed the notice to pull the rule. The FDA said they received comments supporting "personal choice" and expressing worries about the rules being too hard on small businesses. Now, it's completely up to individual states to make their own rules. Some states already ban it, like New Jersey, which had to make a strict law in 2013 after a mom actually brought her 5-year-old daughter to a tanning salon! Doctors warn that without a national rule, teens are at serious risk, especially since 60% of Gen Z mistakenly believes that getting a "base tan" protects them from sunburn.

For more details, see nbcnews at nbcnews.com/health/cancer/fda-pulls-proposed-rule-teens-tanning-beds-rcna263976 (opens in new tab)