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 Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced important proposed steps ‎to protect public health by preventing the use of sunlamp products (also commonly known as indoor tanning beds) by minors and reducing the risk of using these devices for adults. Proposed regulations made public Friday by the FDA would ban children under 18 from patronizing indoor tanning facilities and would require adult customers to sign strongly-worded new consent forms every six months.The FDA says tanning beds and sun lamps can cause skin cancer, burns and eye damage. Specifically, some of the key proposed changes would include: 
 
 making warnings easier to read and more prominent on the device; 
 
 requiring an emergency shut off switch, or “panic button”; 
 
 improving eye safety by adding requirements that would limit the amount of light allowed through protective eyewear; 
 
 improving labeling on replacement bulbs so tanning facility operators can make sure they are using the proper replacement bulbs, reducing the risk of accidental burns; and 
 
 prohibiting dangerous device modifications, like installing stronger bulbs, without re-certifying and re-identifying the device with the FDA. "The FDA's long-awaited tanning device proposals are an important step that will help to reduce skin cancer diagnoses and deaths," the American Cancer Society's Cancer Action Network, which advocates in Washington on health issues, said in a statement. Medical groups immediately applauded the aggressive moves, which come about 18 months after the FDA put new warning labels on the devices used by millions of people each year at tens of thousands of tanning salons, health clubs and other facilities. The Indoor Tanning Association, which does not conduct its own research into the health effects of tanning, told the Associated Press that decisions about tanning should be left to parents, not the government. "Today's action is intended to help protect young people from a known and preventable cause of skin cancer and other harms," acting FDA Commissioner Stephen Ostroff said in a statement. “These proposed rules are meant to help adults make their decisions based on truthful information and to ensure manufacturers and tanning facilities take additional steps to improve the safety of these devices.” 
 
 The proposed device restriction would apply to manufacturers and tanning facility operators. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an average of more than 3,000 emergency department room visits occur for injuries related to indoor tanning each year in the U.S. (based on 2003-2012 data). "The risk of developing melanoma increases by 59 percent for individuals who have been exposed to UV (ultraviolet) radiation from indoor tanning, and the risk increases with each use," the American Academy of Dermatology said in welcoming the proposed rules. "Fifteen or 20 years ago, it was very unusual to see someone their 30s with a melanoma, and now we constantly see women in their late teens and 20s with melanoma and almost all of them have an extensive tanning bed history," said Darrell Rigel, a clinical professor of dermatology at New York University. “Individuals under 18 years are at greatest risk of the adverse health consequences of indoor tanning.” 
 
 Indoor tanning is a known contributor to skin cancer, including melanoma (its most deadly form), and other skin damage. Yet, 1.6 million minors indoor tan each year, increasing their risk of skin cancer and other damage (based on data in the 2013 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey). The public has 90 days to comment on the proposals, which FDA says apply to manufacturers of sunlamps and tanning beds and to tanning facility operators. "There are approximately 18,000 to 19,000 indoor tanning salons and 15,000 to 20,000 other facilities, such as health clubs, spas, and other commercial establishments, that offer tanning services in the U.S.," the FDA said. Eleven states and Washington, D.C., already ban indoor tanning by minors, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
– Minors hoping to get their tan on will have to choose the kind that comes in a bottle or get their rays from the sun, according to proposed rules from the FDA. Outlined Friday, the rules would bar those under 18 from using a sunlamp or indoor tanning device, reports NBC News, which calls the rules "unprecedented." Adult users would need to sign what USA Today calls a "strongly worded" document acknowledging the risks of tanning, including skin cancer, before using indoor tanning devices, which the FDA wants modified to include a "panic" off switch and larger warning labels. Doctors and cancer researchers are celebrating the move, per USA Today. The public has 90 days to comment. (Tanning beds send thousands to the ER each year.)