[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 106 (Thursday, August 3, 2006)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8827-S8828]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. ISAKSON (for himself and Mr. Reed):
  S. 3812. 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; to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, 
and Pensions.
  Mr. REED. Mr. President, I rise today, along with my colleague, 
Senator Isakson, to introduce the Tanning Accountability and 
Notification--TAN--Act of 2006. A House counterpart measure was 
introduced by Representatives Maloney and Brown-Waite in February.
  Close to a million people will be diagnosed with skin cancer this 
year. Approximately 1 in 5 Americans will develop skin cancer in their 
lifetime, and these numbers are on the rise.
  There are many factors that contribute to these startling figures. In 
recent years efforts have been undertaken by various organizations to 
better inform the public about the risk of sun exposure and ways to 
decrease the chance of developing skin cancer. One area, however, where 
better information is sorely needed is on the use of indoor tanning 
salons.
  Every day approximately 1 million people visit a tanning salon. It is 
a practice particularly popular among teens, the group that seems most 
at risk from the effects of indoor tanning. The American Academy of 
Dermatology, the Food and Drug Administration, FDA, the National 
Institutes of

[[Page S8828]]

Health, NIH, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, CDC, and 
the World Health Organization, WHO, all discourage the use of indoor 
tanning equipment.
  This message and the current information about the risks of indoor 
tanning I fear are not being adequately passed on to consumers. The FDA 
has not updated its warnings on tanning beds since 1979. Regular users 
of indoor tanning beds deserve to be fully informed.
  The TAN Act calls upon the FDA to revisit the current label on indoor 
tanning beds and determine through a process of public hearings and 
consumer testing what kind of labeling requirements would convey 
important information on the risks of indoor tanning.
  This legislation is not about introducing new regulations but 
ensuring that the current FDA regulations remain effective in 
communicating accurate, current, and clear information to consumers of 
indoor tanning salons.
  I look forward to working with my colleagues towards passage of this 
important, bipartisan legislation. Mr. President, I ask unanimous 
consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.
                                 ______