FDA should regulate tanning bed safety

The above statistics highlight the significance of The Tanning Bed Cancer Control Act, which was introduced by Reps. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) and Charlie Dent (R-Pa.) and addresses tanning bed safety issues by allowing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the strength of UV rays emitted from tanning beds. If this bill becomes law, Congress hopes to reduce the rising rate of melanoma and bring awareness to the dangers of tanning. For those who believe this is yet another example of governmental intrusion, please consider the fact that one American every hour dies from melanoma, a cancer which is 100 percent curable if discovered early.

And the buck does not stop with Congress — the FDA urgently needs to take action on melanoma. The FDA has been reviewing new data on tanning beds for months now. Back in March 2010, a panel of outside experts convened by the FDA recommended that the agency put tighter controls on artificial tanning, ranging from requiring parental consent forms to banning the practice in younger teens. As of yet, the FDA has not made any changes to improve regulations on tanning bed use. Given that the agency’s panels are convened for the sole purpose of providing expert guidance to the FDA, it is vitally important that the FDA heed the advice of these panels.

Most importantly, the FDA needs to address the urgent call for more objective melanoma diagnostics. Given how far diagnostic technology has evolved in other areas of medicine, is it reasonable to ask physicians to make an initial clinical diagnosis of melanoma using only the naked eye? The sad reality is that not even the most highly trained human eye can accurately scan a patient for melanoma lesions with 100 percent confidence. Importantly, diagnostic tools could improve physician sensitivity — the ability to detect melanoma when it is present. 

For years, research and development has focused primarily on post-diagnosis treatments. Sadly, melanoma is almost always fatal once it has reached Stage 4 metastasis. The pipeline of innovation must shift to tools for early detection of lesions. One in five people will develop skin cancer in their lives, but it doesn’t have to be deadly if our public officials take action now.

Melanoma can strike anyone, at any age, and the incidence of death from melanoma continues to rise at an alarming rate. Obviously, we need to continue encouraging people to check their bodies regularly for any new, evolving or abnormal lesions. But in addition, it is vitally important for Congress and the FDA to start paying more attention to melanoma, a cancer epidemic that will see 115,000 new cases in the U.S. this year alone.

Charles W. Stiefel is the former Chairman and CEO of Stiefel Laboratories, one of the world’s largest dermatology companies, which was acquired by GlaxoSmithKline in 2009.