Indoor tanning

Indoor tanning involves using a device that emits ultraviolet radiation to produce a cosmetic tan.^[a] Typically found in tanning salons, gyms, spas, hotels, and sporting facilities, and less often in private residences, the most common device is a horizontal tanning bed, also known as a sunbed or solarium. Vertical devices are known as tanning booths or stand-up sunbeds.

First introduced in the 1960s, indoor tanning became popular with people in the Western world, particularly in Scandinavia, in the late 1970s.^[2] The practice finds a cultural parallel in skin whitening in Asian countries, and both support multibillion-dollar industries.^[3] Most indoor tanners are women, 16–25 years old, who want to improve their appearance or mood, acquire a pre-holiday tan, or treat a skin condition.^[4]

Across Australia, Canada, Northern Europe and the United States, 18.2% of adults, 45.2% of university students, and 22% of adolescents had tanned indoors in the previous year, according to studies in 2007–2012.^[b] As of 2010 the indoor-tanning industry employed 160,000 in the United States, where 10–30 million tanners^[c] visit 25,000 indoor facilities annually.^[2] In the United Kingdom, 5,350 tanning salons were in operation in 2009.^[7] From 1997 several countries and US states banned under-18s from indoor tanning.^[8] The commercial use of tanning beds was banned entirely in Brazil in 2009 and Australia in 2015.^[9] As of 1 January 2017^[update], thirteen U.S. states and one territory have banned under-18s from using them, and at least 42 states and the District of Columbia have imposed regulations, such as requiring parental consent.^[10]

Indoor tanning is a source of UV radiation, which is known to cause skin cancer, including melanoma^[11][12][13] and skin aging,^[14] and is associated with sunburn, photodrug reactions, infections, weakening of the immune system, and damage to the eyes, including cataracts, photokeratitis (snow blindness) and eye cancer.^[15][16][17] Injuries caused by tanning devices lead to over 3,000 emergency-room cases a year in the United States alone.^[d] Physicians may use or recommend tanning devices to treat skin conditions such as psoriasis, but the World Health Organization does not recommend their use for cosmetic purposes.^[19][20] The WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer includes tanning devices, along with ultraviolet radiation from the sun, in its list of group 1 carcinogens.^[17] Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health found evidence of addiction to tanning in a 2017 paper.^[21]

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