Women who use sunbeds support strict policies but not outright ban

Women in the United States who use sunbeds are in favour of policies to make it safer but against a total ban, according to a new study by Georgetown University Medical Center in the US.

74% support policies to prevent children younger than 18 from tanning and around the same number of those surveyed were in favour of stronger health warnings being placed on sunbed devices, the survey found.

However, support for a total ban was low, with only one in every 10 participants in favour of the idea.

"Given the low levels of support for a total indoor tanning ban, support for other potential policies such as increasing the minimum age to 21 should be investigated to inform future steps to reduce indoor tanning and the associated health risks,” said Darren Mays, who led the study.

In 2015, more than 40 US states took steps to address concerns around sunbed use by introducing stricter regulations to indoor tanning, especially among minors, and new regulations were issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which saw tanning devices declassified as moderate to high-risk medical devices.

The study was completed by 365 women between the ages of 18–30 who has used a sunbed at least one in the past year. The results were printed in the journal Translational Behavioural Medicine, Practice, Policy, Research.