Oral Presentation Skin Cancer 2024

Bills to restrict access to indoor tanning facilities in U.S. state legislatures (#93)

David B Buller 1 , Julia Berteletti 1 , Carolyn J Heckman 2 , Kevin RJ Schroth 3 , Alan C Geller 4 , Jerod L Stapleton 5 , Irene Adjei 1 , Anna Mitarotondo 2 , Samantha R Guild 6 , Jeffrey E Gershenwald 7 , Donna Regen 8
  1. Klein Buendel, Inc., Golden, CO, United States
  2. Cancer Prevention and Control, Rutgers Cancer Institute of New Jersey, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
  3. Health, Behavior, Society and Policy, Rutgers School of Public Health, New Brunswick, NJ, USA
  4. Program for Community Research, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
  5. Health, Behavior and Society, University of Kentucky School of Public Health, Lexington, KY, USA
  6. Aim At Melanoma Foundation, Frisco, TX, USA
  7. Surgical Oncology, The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX, USA
  8. Melanoma Advocate, Allen, TX, USA

In the USA, indoor tanning (IT) facilities are regulated by state legislation and U.S. Food and Drug Administration. State laws with more stringent age restrictions are associated with less IT by youth. Legislative bills on IT introduced in U.S. states, District of Columbia (DC), and Puerto Rico were collected and coded for age restrictions, parental involvement, warnings, operator requirements, and enforcement. Overall, 184 bills were introduced in 49 of 50 states and DC between 1991 and 2023, mostly after 2008. Overall, 56 bills were passed and enacted in 47 states and DC, and 126 bills failed. The first bill banning minors under age 18 from IT facilities was enacted in 2012, with an under-18 ban currently enacted in 22 states and DC. Age restrictions at other younger ages (i.e., 14-17.5 years) were enacted in 10 other states. In many states, it took several years and proposed bills before a law was passed, with proposed bills typically becoming more stringent over time and enacted bills being more stringent than failed bills. However, warnings, operator requirements, and enforcement provisions were classified as weak in most bills. Association of political party of both bill sponsor and legislative majority with age restrictions (p<0.001) and bill enactment (p<0.001) will be presented. Bills restricting IT facilities, including those restricting minors under age 18, have garnered support across the U.S. political spectrum. Findings can inform advocates and legislators on ways to increase stringency of IT laws that can contribute to decreasing rates of melanoma in young adults.