FDA Panel Advises No Tanning Beds for Minors

Yesterday was a GIANT LEAP forward toward a ban on the sale of UV tanning to minors! The collective testimonies of some very dedicated physicians, researchers, organizations and individuals made it very difficult for the FDA committee to recommend anything other than a ban for minors.

Melanoma Survivor and Cherish Your Skin Organization Founder, Jenifer Kuykendall, "What an amazing experience to be a part of this influential group addressing the FDA panel. Let's hope the FDA does the right thing and protects our children."

Stay Tuned for the final ruling to come soon!

According to ABC News this morning:

FDA Panel Advises No Tanning Beds for Minors
FDA Advisory Panel Recommends Ban on Tanning Beds for Children Under 18

Minors could be barred from indoor tanning and a registry could be required to monitor the use of tanning beds by salons if the U.S. Food and Drug Administration heeds advice from a panel it convened to review the classification of tanning beds.

Ultraviolet, or UV, lamps for tanning currently are considered class I medical devices by the FDA, which means they are subject to relatively few regulations.
The FDA could boost tanning beds either to a class II or class III medical device -- a change that would mean stricter regulation. Among the new rules could be a prohibition of devices containing mirrors that amplify the power of UV exposure. A few members of the FDA panel dissented on the under-18 ban. They agreed with the sentiment of a ban, but thought it would be unrealistic to implement a ban and would be better to require strong warnings and parental notification.
More than 30 million people tan indoors every year, and nearly three quarters of them are women between ages 16 and 29, according to the Journal of American Dermatology.

Using a tanning bed before the age of 35 increases the risk of melanoma -- the deadliest form of skin cancer -- by 75 percent, according to the Melanoma Research Foundation.
Skin cancer is one of the few cancers for which a preventative option exists, said Dr. Allen Halpern, vice president of The Skin Cancer Foundation, who testified at the panel meeting.

Tanning salon businesses, one of the many industries hard hit by the recession, are already feeling the heat with the passage of the Obama administration's new health care bill. The bill includes a 10 percent tax on individuals receiving indoor tanning services, and the initiative is expected to generate $2.7 billion over 10 years to help fund the health care overhaul.

Mrs. Rockport Fulton: Congressional Briefing Alerts to Skin Cancer Epidemic

The National Council on Skin Cancer Prevention’s premier event, Skin Cancer in America: A Growing Epidemic in the Rayburn House Office building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC served as a call-to-action for Congressional staffers.

Over 50 senate and house offices were represented at the meeting with an overall attendance over 100. In addition to the event, several members scheduled meetings with the health legislative assistants in the Senate and House offices.

The three speakers and co-chairs drove home the messages that skin cancer in the U.S. is rapidly growing while federal funding is decreasing. Marcelle Leahy, wife of Senator Patrick Leahy from Vermont, provided an emotional overview of her battle with melanoma. Darrell Rigel, M.D., a Clinical Professor of Dermatology at New York University Medical Center and a skin cancer expert and researcher in problems related to ultraviolet exposure to the skin, provided an overview of skin cancer and melanoma and the foremost research.
Michelle Charlesworth, ABC news anchor and reporter in New York, shared her inspiring and informative personal skin cancer experience. Her story educated Congressional staffers about the consequences and impact of basal cell carcinoma – an issue that often does not get as much attention as cancers with a higher mortality rate. Today is the DAY! The FDA will hear the facts about tanning beds and skin cancer. We will ask them to immediately reclassify for the purpose of protecting the American public.

Stay tuned to you national news today as this will likely receive much press!

Mrs. Rockport-Fulton Heads to FDA TODAY

I am honored to join a panel of ADVOCATES to present my personal story at the upcoming FDA General and Plastic Surgery Devices Advisory Panel Meeting tomorrow, March 25th, 2010 in Maryland.

Also presenting their stories will be other cancer survivors, and sadly, families of patients who died from Skin Cancer.

American Academy of Dermatology Association (AADA) President, William D. James, M.D., FAAD will lead the meeting of top physicians and researchers in Dermatology, who will share the undeniable facts about the cancer causing UV tanning devices.

Together, we will ask for a ban on tanning bed usage for under 18 years of age, to better protect our children. We will also be asking the FDA to appropriately reclassify tanning beds to better protect the American public.

Stay tuned!

Mrs. Rockport-Fulton International to Testify at FDA on March 25, 2010

I am honored to join a panel of ADVOCATES at the upcoming FDA General and Plastic Surgery Devices Advisory Panel Meeting on March 25th, 2010 in Maryland. Also presenting their stories will be other cancer survivors, and sadly, families of patients who died from Skin Cancer. Importantly, the leading doctors and researchers will share the facts undeniably linking Skin Cancer and tanning beds. Together, we will ask the FDA to appropriately reclassify tanning beds to better protect the public.




My personal story will be about my experience in tanning beds. I hope to be a part of the influence that changes how people think about tanning beds and its link to skin cancer. We can truly save lives by making this important first step to reclassify tanning beds. Join me by signing this petition at the link below:

http://support.skincancer.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FDA_Dec_2009_Petition

WHY?

Any tan is a sign of skin damage, warns the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A tan results from exposure to ultraviolet (UV) rays, forcing the skin to produce more melanin, the pigment that darkens skin. This process can lead to aging of the skin and skin cancer. UV radiation includes UVB rays, which penetrate the top layers of skin to cause sunburn, and UVA rays, which penetrate deeper layers of skin to cause allergic reactions. Both types of rays can cause DNA damage that leads to skin cancer. Lamps used in tanning salons emit both types of radiation, according to the FDA.

TANNING BEDS HURT!

Radiation from the sun and artificial sources, including lamps in tanning salons, increases the risk of developing skin cancer, according to the National Cancer Institute (NCI). Women who use tanning beds more than once a month become 55 percent more likely to develop malignant melanoma, the NCI says. But both men and women increase their risks of developing skin cancer with long-term exposure to artificial sources of UV.

UVA RAYS BURN!

The UVA radiation in tanning bed bulbs is up to three times more intense than UVA in natural sunlight, reports Dr. Celeste Robb-Nicholson of Harvard Women's Health Watch. Most of the 30 million Americans who use tanning salons each year are women between the ages of 16 and 49 years old.

THE CIGARETTES OF OUR GENERATION!

Tanning beds are a relatively new industry phenomenon, becoming popular in the United States during the 1970s. Long-term studies on populations soon began showing connections with skin cancer. In a report in the February 6, 2002, issue of the "Journal of the National Cancer Institute", the NCI found that indoor tanning devices were linked to a 50-percent increase in the risk of basal cell carcinoma and more than a 100-percent increase in risks of squamous cell carcinoma.

TANNING BEDS CAUSE CANCER!

Tanning beds are now considered to be in the highest cancer risk category by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a World Health Organization agency. Tanning beds had been classified as "probably carcinogenic to humans" but were elevated to "carcinogenic to humans" by the IARC following a review of research that was published in the July 29, 2009 issue of "The Lancet Oncology". The review concludes that tanning beds increase the risk of deadly melanoma skin cancer by 75 percent for people who begin using them before age 30.
Warnings
The IARC report confirms earlier warnings from the American Cancer Society (ACS), which state that tanning bed use "is dangerous to your health and should be avoided," according to Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer of the ACS. The IARC looked at 19 studies conducted over a 25-year period. The agency went so far as recommending the banning of commercial indoor tanning for people younger than 18 years old because the development of skin cancer is a long process that may take decades.

More information to come soon regarding the outcome of this important meeting.

FDA to discuss stricter guidelines about Tanning Beds due to Skin Cancer

On March 25, 2010, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will meet to discuss the possible reclassification of UV-emitting tanning beds and lamps. Currently, tanning beds and lamps are Class I medical devices, putting them in the same category as elastic bandages and tongue depressors. But UV radiation from tanning machines is a proven human carcinogen (cancer-causing agent), and the chief cause of skin cancer. Reclassification by the FDA would permit more oversight and stringent regulation.

As a survivor of Malignant Melanoma who spent many years in tanning beds, I have joined the Skin Cancer Foundation in this important fight against tanning beds. I was told by the tanning bed salons that laying in the bed would provide a "safer" tan since I would "not be exposed to the dangerous rays". I was encouraged to get my daily "fix" over many years, because tanned bodies look healthier, right?

On Monday, I submitted my personal experience to the FDA and am hopeful I will be chosen to speak on the dangers of tanning beds in front of the panel at the end of the month.

You can also help in this fight by signing an important petition to the FDA at the following site:

http://support.skincancer.org/site/PageServer?pagename=FDA_Dec_2009_Petition

Thank you for your efforts on getting tanning beds reclassified by the FDA.

Source: The Skin Cancer Foundation