State restrictions succeed in reducing indoor tanning among teen girls
Female high school students in states with indoor tanning laws -- particularly those with parental permission laws and age restrictions -- were 42 percent less likely to engage in indoor tanning compared to students in states without any laws, according to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study published online by the American Journal of Public Health.
While most cancers have been on the decline in the U.S. since the 1990s, melanomas -- which are the most fatal of skin cancers -- have been on the rise, especially among young women. The popularity of indoor tanning, which increases exposure to ultraviolet radiation, is considered to be at least partially responsible for that deadly trend. More than 60,000 melanomas are diagnosed annually.