Dr. Boris Lushniak said state and local officials need to do more to help people cover up, such as providing more shade at parks and sporting events. Schools should encourage kids to wear hats and sunscreen and schedule outdoor activities when the sun is low in the sky. And colleges and universities should eliminate indoor tanning beds on campus much as they would prohibit tobacco use, he added.
“We need more states and institutions on board with these policies that discourage or restrict indoor tanning by our youth,” Lushniak said. “Tanned skin is damaged skin.”
Lisa Ferguson, owner of Baja Tan in Fairfield Twp. doesn’t agree with the surgeon general’s recommendations.
Ferguson opened her tanning salon nine years ago and has invested more than $250,000. She fears that she could lose everything if new government regulations are put in place banning indoor tanning by youth.
“We follow all the regulations and rules. This is a safe environment,” she said. “If kids tan outside it’s not controlled, so that’s where I think our safety inside tanning salons is a lot safer.”
The surgeon general's "call to action" plan is part of a broader push this year by government officials and public health advocates to raise awareness on what they say has become a major public health problem. While other cancers such as lung cancer are decreasing, skin cancer is rising rapidly. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 5 million people are treated for skin cancer each year. And the number of Americans with skin cancer in the past three decades eclipse the number of all other cancers combined.
Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer with 9,000 people dying each year from the mostly preventable disease. The Melanoma Research Foundation says exposure to tanning beds before age 30 increases a person’s risk of developing melanoma by 75 percent.
About five years ago Ferguson was diagnosed with basal cell carcinoma, a type of skin cancer while she was on vacation in Mexico. She says she was sunbathing outside and got a sunburn. When she returned home, she noticed a bump on her chest.
“I went to my doctor and he told me it was cancer, so I got it removed,” said Ferguson. “I’ve been tanning and the cancer doesn’t come from in here, it comes from outside.”
She says indoor tanning beds are safe and adds she and her workers follow strict rules and guidelines.
“We will take a look at someone and make that call as to how long they’re going to be able to tan, they can’t come in here and tan in our basic bed for 15 minutes, they will more than likely start out at six or seven minutes,” Ferguson said.
Natasia Reinhardt, of Liberty Twp., has never stepped foot inside a tanning salon because she fears developing skin cancer.
“I would follow the advice coming from the surgeon general, as a person of fair skin myself cancer is a main concern and I don’t want to personally put myself at risk,” said Reinhardt. “I don’t want to have age spots, I don’t want to have wrinkles at an early age, I’d like to stay as young as possible looking now.”
Howard Koh, assistant secretary for health for the Department of Health and Human Services, said skin cancer prevention needs to become a bigger part of daily American life.
“We need to change the social norm with respect to tanning and shatter the myth that tanned skin is somehow a sign of health,” Koh said.
Doctors recommend doing regular skin checks for new moles and seeing a doctor if any change in size, shape or color. Doctors also recommend applying at least 1 ounce of sunscreen with an SPF of 30 or more to exposed skin and reapplying every two hours, more if swimming or sweating. Children in particular should be protected because bad sunburns in childhood are thought to greatly increase risk later in life.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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