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Tanning Ads Commonly Seen in High School Newspapers

Rising Incidence of Skin Cancer Requires a Response, Researchers Report

April 17, 2006

• Sunscreen Standards Lacking; Many Ineffective, Group Says • Fruits & Vegetables Protect Against Sunburn • Some Lip Balms May Attract UV Rays • FDA Proposes New Sunscreen Rules • Study: Excessive Lifestyles Fueling Cancer Rate • Skin Cancer Rates On The Rise • Vitamin D Reduces Cancer Risk, Study Finds • Tanning May Be Addictive, Studies Warn • Marathon Runners May Face Higher Risk of Skin Cancer • Suntans Without the Sun • Not All Sunscreens Are Equal • Skin Cancer More Deadly in Darker-Skinned People • Tanning Ads Commonly Seen in High School Newspapers • Sunscreen Makers Lie, Suits Charge • Study Warns Tanning May Be Addictive

Although the World Health Organization recommends that individuals younger than age 18 not use UV tanning devices, a study found that nearly half of high schools in the Denver area contained tanning ads in their newspapers, according to an article in the April issue of Archives of Dermatology. There is no restriction on advertising such devices to youth in the United States.

The ultraviolet (UV) radiation used in tanning parlors is a classified carcinogen. As tanning has become more popular among teen girls, the incidence of skin cancer has increased among young women.

Scott Freeman, M.D., University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center, Aurora, and colleagues examined the frequency of tanning advertisements in 131 newspapers from 23 public high schools in three Colorado counties. All of the papers were published between 2001 and 2005, most commonly in 2004.

Tanning ads were found in newspapers from 11 (48 percent) of the 23 schools. Eighteen separate establishments placed the 40 tanning advertisements, 15 of which offered unlimited tanning for periods of up to four months. Nearly half (19) of the ads mentioned discounts requiring student identification or labeled as "prom specials," while two ads (5 percent) mentioned parental consent or accompaniment.

"UV-free tanning options, especially the use of spray-on application systems … offer teenagers and tanning salons an alternative to UV tanning," the authors write. One-third (13) of the advertisements featured these options.

"The escalating cost of treating skin cancers mandates a public health policy response," the authors conclude. "The banning of youth-directed advertising of other carcinogens, namely tobacco, provides a model for public policy response. … Further advocacy of legislative restrictions on tanning marketing to adolescents should be adopted."

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