The Corporate Observer Blog : Consumer Protection, Corporate Abuse : Class Action Lawyer & Attorney : Steven Berk Law Firm

By all means let’s rethink our attitude towards UV radiation, but not by succumbing to the out of context, manipulated half-truths promulgated by [the ITA].

The Indoor Tanning Association (ITA) once again finds itself reaching into its shameful bag of tricks to defend the indefensible, the safety of indoor tanning.  This time, the ITA twists and spins the findings of a recent research paper published in the British Journal of Dermatology to conclude… big surprise… indoor tanning is safer than ever.  To convince minors and unsuspecting consumers that UV radiation isn’t so dangerous after all, the ITA takes hold of and distorts a recent British study of melanoma patients from 1991 to 2004.

To be fair, the study does conclude that reports of escalating rates of melanoma may be overstated, but it hardly endorses indoor tanning, particularly for minors.  The researchers find a stark contrast between: (1) a 48% increase in melanoma diagnosis and (2) a 17.5% increase in mortality rate due to melanoma.  Instead of focusing on the significant rise in mortality, the researchers’ main conclusion is that much of the purported increase in melanomas is actually due to overcautious misdiagnosis of benign lesions.

What catches my eye – and is ignored by the ITA – is the rise in mortality.  The study finds a 17.5% increase in mortality rate over a mere fourteen years.  A frightening result to be sure.  How can that be when the research indicates doctors and patients are becoming far more cautious with regard to melanoma treatment and diagnosis?  Common sense tells us this dual vigilance ought to lower melanoma mortality rate, right?  And yet it has still risen 17.5% (through 2004), not to mention the five years of growth since 2004?!  But does the ITA share this concern?  Hardly, because it wouldn’t make business sense; the ITA has nothing to gain by providing consumers honest information about the danger of UV rays.  Its consistent goal for decades consists of persuading mostly women and teens, through any means necessary, to expose themselves to dangerous – cancer causing – UV rays.

Taking the study’s conclusions out of context, the Executive Director of the ITA John Overstreet shamelessly declares:

This information should make people rethink their fear of UV light.

John, you’re right for once, but not in the ‘forget everything dermatologists say and sacrifice health for a tan’ way you intend.  People should rethink their fear of UV light.  They should question whether we consider the risks enough.  Alarm bells should ring when overall melanoma mortality rate increases significantly despite enhanced doctor and patient diligence.  By all means let’s rethink our attitude towards UV radiation, but not by succumbing to the out of context, manipulated half-truths promulgated by your association.

(Post was prepared with the assistance of David Martin, University of North Carolina 2010)

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"We must do better to protect our teenagers from Cancer"

In a culture that worships everything beautiful, from pencil thin models to starlets strolling down the red carpet, it is no surprise that many teenage girls across the country are drawn to indoor tanning.

This $5 billion dollar a year industry draws them in with sophisticated and targeted advertising. Once in the door, they are barraged by insidious package deals (incentivizing them to bake everyday). Are they warned of the risk of skin cancer, including its deadliest form: melanoma?

Not a chance.

“The Indoor Tanning Association (ITA) has turned the truth on its head”.

They accuse the American Academy of Dermatologists (AAD) and its members of being liars and grossly overstating the risk of cancer to scare patients to their offices. The ITA prepares and distributes literature directed at teens extolling the health benefits of indoor tanning. (Why care about cancer when you can get a little Vitamin D). That position is completely contrary to decades of peer reviewed and respected medical studies linking indoor tanning to skin cancer. Indeed, the World Health Organization has called for a complete prohibition against minors engaging in indoor tanning.

Diana Schafer, 24 was one of those targeted teens. She started indoor tanning at age 14. She was told it was safe as long as she wore protective glasses and waited 24 hours between visits. She soon began going everyday, despite warnings from her mother to stop. “I always thought I was not tan enough”. After eight years of using tanning beds Diana was diagnosed with melanoma.

Where is the government? Who is going to protect the hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of Dianas across the country? The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and state attorneys general have been silenced and outmaneuvered by the powerful and politically savvy ITA.

Enough is enough. We are talking about the health of our teens. Protection requires that victims and potential victims come forward and with experienced counsel file lawsuits to put an end to the shameless practices of this industry.

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