Impact of restrictions on teenaged tanning

Indoor tanning restrictions curb tanning among teenage girls. Female high school students living in states that have passed laws to restrict young people’s use of indoor tanning are 30% less likely to engage in indoor tanning than their peers in states without such laws. Restrictions on access and parental permission requirements are not effective deterrents. Analysis of data from the 2009 and 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys of about 31,000 youngsters showed that age restrictions are key to reducing indoor tanning among girls, who are far more likely than boys to engage in indoor tanning (Guy GP Jr, et al. Am J Public Health. 2014;104[4]:e69-e74).

Ms Freedman is a freelance medical editor and writer in New Jersey. Dr Burke, section editor for Journal Club, is chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at Saint Agnes Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland. He is a contributing editor for Contemporary Pediatrics. The editors have nothing to disclose in regard to affiliations with or financial interests in any organizations that may have an interest in any part of this article.