States Make the Call
Critics of indoor tanning point out that dietary supplements can address vitamin D deficiencies without the risks associated with UV exposure. Meanwhile, the tanning bed industry is being confronted with what appears to be a relentless sequence of studies that all lead to the same conclusion.
"There were some legitimate concerns with the first studies on skin cancer and indoor tanning," says Jerod Stapleton, an assistant professor at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. "But the more recent studies in the literature are well designed, and together they comprise a body of evidence that's hard to refute."
Prospective research—in other words, a comparison of cancer incidence among people who tan indoors versus those who don't in a study that goes forward in time—would go far in settling the debate, but such research is hampered by the fact that melanoma is so rare and by the complexity of potential confounding factors. And a controlled trial in which people are randomly assigned to tanning and nontanning exposure groups simply isn't feasible for ethical reasons.
Scientists and the public alike are therefore left with retrospective evidence, and the question now devolves to how or whether the government should use that evidence to protect public health. For now, the majority of states are taking a precautionary approach. Only time will tell if it makes a difference in melanoma diagnoses.