Doctors oppose tanning bed tax repeal

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., June 30 (UPI) -- Officials of the American Academy of Dermatology Association oppose two bills introduced in the U.S. House and Senate to repeal the tax on tanning beds.

"The indoor tanning tax sends a clear message to Americans, especially young people, that tanning is a dangerous activity and that a tan is not a sign of good health," dermatologist Dr. Ronald L. Moy, president of the AADA, says in a statement. "As the medical doctors who treat more than 3.5 million cases of skin cancer in America every year, dermatologists are focused on increasing awareness of and protecting the public from the known skin cancer risks associated with ultraviolet radiation from indoor tanning."

Indoor tanning is associated with a 75 percent increase in the risk of melanoma -- the deadliest form of skin cancer -- and melanoma incidence rates have been increasing for at least 30 years and faster in young women ages 15-29 than in young men of the same age," Moy says."The Academy is disappointed that the proposed repeal legislation ignores the serious public health impact of indoor tanning and the dramatic rise of skin cancer in young women."