(CNSNews.com) -- Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) called for a national ban on the use of tanning devices, which she described as "essentially carcinogen delivery systems," by those under 18, on Wednesday at the U.S. Capitol.
"We need to keep pushing for a national ban, in my view, on the use of tanning devices by children," said DeLauro. "As on so many issues, the states are showing the way. At least 41 of our states regulate the use of tanning facilities by minors. Nine have already banned their use altogether by anyone under age of 18. That's where we need to go."
Some states allow those under 18 to use tanning beds as long as they have parental consent. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), states like Delaware, New Hampshire and North Dakota allow 14- to 18-year olds to get parental consent to tan but ban the use of tanning by those under 14 unless it is medically necessary.
"Together again with congressional colleagues we have been pushing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take action," said the congresswoman. "We're making progress. Almost exactly a year ago, the FDA issued an order requiring tanning devices to get clearance before they can be marketed to the public. The same order required a warning on each device stating explicitly that the product should not be used by those under the age of 18."
"Salons and the tanning industry in my view are not being straight with their clients," she said. "Four years ago I was involved with a congressional investigation that found that 90 percent of tanning salons deny that their services presented a danger to health.""The next step is for the FDA to go further to impose that outright ban on minors that are using these products," DeLauro said. "And we know that the FDA is considering such a rule. I am pushing for report language in the 2016 budget encouraging the FDA to finalize to implement the new regulations, and in my view this will be a big step forward."
The event also highlighted the accessibility and availability of tanning devices on college campuses.
"Half of the top 125 colleges in the United States had tanning beds either on campus or in off-campus student housing," said DeLauro. "Another study again by the Academy of Dermatology found that 18 of country's top 100 colleges had agreements with salons allowing students to use their university debit card to pay for tanning sessions. As the report's author concluded and this is a quote, 'these agreements constitute an endorsement and even encourage indoor tanning.'"
"But we are bringing pressure to bear on colleges to stop the practice," she said. A number of us, my colleagues, myself, the result of the letters we sent as members that we have at least two colleges on the list, the University of Illinois and the University of Pittsburgh have agreed to drop tanning salons from their debit card program."
"So this was the tie -- it was the debit card program, so that we need to be aggressive in our lobbying against these efforts. If we keep up that pressure, others will follow," DeLauro said. "They will. That's the kind of information that's got to go out to parents, you know, about protecting their kids and getting their letters into these colleges and universities."
DeLauro also compared the tanning to the tobacco industry saying that tanning devices are "essentially carcinogen delivery systems."
"A study published by the Mayo Clinic found that cases of melanoma in women aged 18 to 39 are 8 times what they were 40 years ago," she said. "That represents thousands, thousands, of young women suffering from a life threatening disease. The study's author pointed to tanning beds as one of the main culprits. And it is time that we started treating tanning devices for what they are. Just like tobacco products, they are essentially carcinogen delivery systems."
"We do not allow our children to buy cigarettes," she said. "We discourage their use generally. We should be doing the very same for tanning beds. Yet, the tanning industry continues to target teen and adolescent girls with aggressive marketing. This is not unlike what we found out when we were dealing with the tobacco industry. They want to entice our nation's young people on college campuses all over the country."
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