Monday, February 25, 2013 By Genevra Pittman Tanning facilities
often given inconsistent or incorrect information about the
risks associated with indoor tanning and may let kids as young
as 10 or 12 tan, according to a new study from Missouri.
Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has some
guidelines on proper safety precautions for indoor tanning,
those aren't enforced by states if the state government doesn't
pass its own regulations, researchers explained. Missouri is one
of 17 states without any age or safety restrictions on indoor
tanning -- a trend that has become increasingly popular, and
some say addictive, among young women. "It's not just, ‘I'm
going to look good for the prom.' It's something that's a very
common practice among lots of kids, particularly Caucasian
girls," said Dr. Sophie J. Balk, an attending pediatrician at
Children's Hospital at Montefiore in Bronx, New York. "Teenagers
in general, particularly the younger ones, may not understand
the risk," Balk, who co-wrote a com