I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 4767 

To require the Food and Drug Administration to conduct consumer testing 

to determine the appropriateness of the current labeling requirements 

for indoor tanning devices and determine whether such requirements 

provide sufficient information to consumers regarding the risks that 

the use of such devices pose for the development of irreversible damage 

to the skin, including skin cancer, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2006 

Mrs. MALONEY (for herself and Ms. GINNY BROWN-WAITE of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy 

and Commerce 

A BILL 

To require the Food and Drug Administration to conduct 

consumer testing to determine the appropriateness of 

the current labeling requirements for indoor tanning devices and determine whether such requirements provide 

sufficient information to consumers regarding the risks 

that the use of such devices pose for the development 

of irreversible damage to the skin, including skin cancer, 

and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Tanning Account3 ability and Notification Act of 2006’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 The Congress finds as follows: 

6 (1) The Food and Drug Administration 

7 (‘‘FDA’’) and numerous leading United States 

8 health care organizations estimate that approxi9 mately one million Americans each year will be 

10 stricken with skin cancer, a potentially deadly dis11 ease, and the most common of all types of cancers. 

12 (2) The number of cases of melanoma, the most 

13 deadly of all skin cancers, is rising in the United 

14 States. The American Cancer Society estimates 

15 111,900 Americans will be diagnosed with melanoma 

16 in 2006. Nationally, one person dies of melanoma al17 most every hour. 

18 (3) Numerous studies have established that 

19 skin cancer is closely associated with excessive ultra20 violet light exposure. 

21 (4) In December 2002, the National Institute 

22 of Environmental Health Sciences issued a report 

23 that identified broad spectrum ultraviolet radiation 

24 produced by artificial light sources as a known car25 cinogen and added such radiation to its listing of 

26 228 substances linked to cancer. 


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1 (5) The FDA, joined by the National Institutes 

2 of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Pre3 vention, the World Health Organization, and the 

4 American Academy of Dermatology, discourages the 

5 use of tanning beds and sun lamps, and has con6 cluded that indoor tanning can be as harmful as out7 door tanning, and that perhaps more than one mil8 lion people in the United States alone visit tanning 

9 salons each day on the average. 

10 (6) The FDA and numerous leading United 

11 States and international health care organizations 

12 have expressed concerns that the consuming public 

13 generally, and teenage population particularly, is not 

14 aware that indoor tanning devices emit ultraviolet 

15 radiation that is similar to and sometimes more 

16 powerful than the UV radiation emitted by the sun. 

17 (7) The FDA has concluded that there are no 

18 ‘‘safe rays’’ insofar as both types of ultraviolet light 

19 cause skin cancer, damage to the eyes and the im20 mune system, as well as wrinkling and other signs 

21 of premature skin aging. Tanning devices in salons, 

22 tanning parlors, spas, and similar settings are in no 

23 way less harmful alternatives to the sun’s rays. 

24 (8) Exposure to ultraviolet radiation, especially 

25 from indoor tanning equipment, is not necessary to 


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1 maintain adequate levels of vitamin D in the body. 

2 A comprehensive review of the scientific literature 

3 published in the February 2006 issue of the Journal 

4 of the American Academy of Dermatology confirms 

5 that exposing oneself to harmful doses of ultraviolet 

6 radiation is an unsafe practice that is not essential 

7 to maintaining an adequate supply of vitamin D for 

8 good bone and muscle health. 

9 (9) According to the American Academy of Der10 matology, manufacturers of tanning devices should 

11 be required to fix upon the devices a warning label 

12 reading, ‘‘Ultraviolet radiation can cause skin cancer 

13 and nonreversible forms of damage to the skin’’. 

14 SEC. 3. REPORT BY FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION RE15 GARDING LABELING INFORMATION ON RELA16 TIONSHIP BETWEEN USE OF INDOOR TAN17 NING DEVICES AND DEVELOPMENT OF SKIN 

18 CANCER OR OTHER SKIN DAMAGE. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

20 Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘‘Sec21 retary’’), acting through the Commissioner of Food and 

22 Drugs, shall determine— 

23 (1) whether the labeling requirements for in24 door tanning devices, including the positioning re25 quirements, provide sufficient information to conVerDate Aug 31 2005 02:31 Feb 18, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4767.IH H4767

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•HR 4767 IH 

1 sumers regarding the risks that the use of such de2 vices pose for the development of irreversible damage 

3 to the eyes and skin, including skin cancer; and 

4 (2)(A) whether adding the warning suggested 

5 by the American Academy of Dermatology to the 

6 current warning label, or any other additional warn7 ing, would communicate the risks of indoor tanning 

8 more effectively; or 

9 (B) whether there is no warning that would be 

10 capable of adequately communicating such risks. 

11 (b) CONSUMER TESTING.—In making the determina12 tions under subsection (a), the Secretary shall conduct ap13 propriate consumer testing, using the best available meth14 ods for determining consumer understanding of label 

15 warnings. 

16 (c) PUBLIC HEARINGS; PUBLIC COMMENT.—The 

17 Secretary shall hold public hearings and solicit comments 

18 from the public in making the determinations under sub19 section (a). 

20 (d) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

21 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

22 to the Congress a report that provides the determinations 

23 under subsection (a). In addition, the Secretary shall in24 clude in the report the measures being implemented by 


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1 the Secretary to significantly reduce the risks associated 

2 with indoor tanning devices. 

Æ 


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