Youth Access Laws

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Abstract
THE NUMBER of minors using tanning devices is surprisingly large and increasing. The $5 billion tanning salon industry counts more than 2.3 million teenagers among its estimated North American consumer base of 28 million.1,2 Studies assessing indoor tanning by minors in the past decade confirm widespread use: In 1991, 34% of 1008 suburban Minnesota high school students reported using commercial tanning facilities (lifetime prevalence of 51% for girls and 15% for boys).3 Fifty-seven percent of 1252 Swedish students aged between 14 and 19 years reported sunbed use 4 or more times during the previous year.4 In the US Midwest, 12.5% of female 17- to 19-year-olds answering telephone questionnaires in 1994 reported using indoor tanning devices 6 or more times in the past year.5 In 1998, a US population-based telephone survey found that 10% of children aged 11 to 18 years reported using tanning sunlamps in the previous year.6 And in 1999, a large US cross-sectional study using self-reported questionnaires found nearly 10% of respondents aged 12 to 18 years reported using a tanning bed in the previous year.7