Preventing Chronic Disease | Implications of Lessons Learned From Tobacco Control for Tanning Bed Reform - CDC

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Preventing Chronic Disease | Implications of Lessons Learned From Tobacco Control for Tanning Bed Reform - CDC

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Implications of Lessons Learned From Tobacco Control for Tanning Bed Reform

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• Abstract
• Introduction
• Similarities Between Tobacco and Tanning Bed Industries
• Applying the MPOWER Model to Tanning Bed Reform
• Looking Ahead
• Acknowledgments
• Author Information
• References

Craig Sinclair, MPPM; Jennifer K. Makin, MSc

Suggested citation for this article: Sinclair C, Makin JK. Implications of Lessons Learned From Tobacco Control for Tanning Bed Reform. Prev Chronic Dis 2013;10:120186. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd10.120186.

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Abstract

Tanning beds used according to the manufacturer’s instructions expose the user to health risks, including melanoma and other skin cancers. Applying the MPOWER model (monitor, protect, offer alternatives, warn, enforce, and raise taxes), which has been used in tobacco control, to tanning bed reform could reduce the number of people at risk of diseases associated with tanning bed use. Among the tactics available to government are restricting the use of tanning beds by people under age 18 and those with fair skin, increasing the price of tanning bed services through taxation, licensing tanning bed operators, and banning unsupervised tanning bed operations.

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Introduction

In 2009, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) elevated use of ultraviolet radiation (UVR)-emitting tanning beds to the highest cancer risk category, labeling them “carcinogenic to humans” (1). This means, in effect, that tanning beds are one of the few industries whose product, if used as the manufacturer intends, puts the user at risk of harm. Another industry in which this is the case is the tobacco industry. In the United States alone, according to tanning bed industry estimates, approximately 18,000 small businesses employing more than 120,000 people serve 30 million customers each year (www.theita.com). Although this is small in comparison to the tobacco industry, many lessons learned in the fight against the tobacco industry could be applied to reducing use of tanning beds.

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Implicaciones de las lecciones aprendidas a partir de las leyes antitabaco en la reforma de ley sobre las camas solares

Craig Sinclair, MPPM; Jennifer K. Makin, MSc

Suggested citation for this article: Sinclair C, Makin JK. Implications of Lessons Learned From Tobacco Control for Tanning Bed Reform. Prev Chronic Dis 2013;10:120186. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd10.120186.

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Resumen

El uso de las camas solares conforme a las instrucciones del fabricante exponen al usuario a riesgos de salud, incluidos el melanoma y otros cánceres de piel. Aplicar el modelo que se utilizó para el control del tabaco llamado MPOWER (que en inglés representa: monitorear, proteger, ofrecer alternativas, advertir, hacer cumplir y elevar impuestos), a la reforma sobre las camas solares podría reducir la cantidad de personas que se exponen al riesgo de enfermedades relacionadas con el uso de las camas solares. Entre las tácticas disponibles para el gobierno están: restringir el uso de las camas solares a las personas menores de 18 y de las personas de piel muy blanca, aumentar el precio de las camas solares por medio del aumento impositivo, exigir licencias para la operación de camas solares y prohibir el uso de camas solares sin supervisión.