Cancer and Indoor Tanning Policy

The Food and Drug Administration has formally withdrawn a long‑planned rule that would have banned people under 18 from using tanning beds and required adult users to periodically sign risk‑acknowledgment forms, reversing a cancer‑prevention push that began in 2015. In a memo signed by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the agency cited unspecified 'scientific and technical concerns' and 'possible unintended consequences,' while an HHS spokesperson told NPR it is reassessing how to balance public health with 'consumer access and choice.' Dermatology experts, including American Academy of Dermatology president Dr. Susan Taylor and UCSF researcher Hunter Shain, say the move ignores extensive evidence that indoor tanning sharply raises skin‑cancer risk, noting that starting before age 20 boosts melanoma risk by nearly 50% and that the WHO classifies UV tanning devices in the same top‑tier carcinogen category as tobacco and asbestos. The decision follows Kennedy’s earlier social‑media pledge to end what he called federal 'suppression' of 'sunshine,' and comes after more than 9,000 public comments — many from tanning‑industry workers — argued the rules would infringe on personal choice and drive tanning underground. Public‑health advocates warn that rolling back the proposed rule could mean more preventable skin cancers and higher long‑term treatment costs, while industry groups continue to dispute the strength of the scientific evidence on early‑life UV exposure.