By Life Quotes, Inc. Staff

Increasing consumer awareness may be the first step in reducing skin cancer caused by tanning.

With this in mind, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is increasing its efforts to put revised warnings on the ultraviolet lamps used by indoor tanning salons, according to a recent report by Bloomberg. Tanning salons will also face a 10 percent tax, thanks to healthcare reform recently passed by the federal government. A report from the Christian Science Monitor shows this tax could generate $2.7 billion during the next nine years.

Some members of the tanning industry believe current warnings are sufficient, according to the Bloomberg report. Table-top models, booths and tanning beds all bear information about the risks of repeated exposure.

“Just like with regular sunlight, there are risks and there are benefits,” John Overstreet, associate director of the Indoor Tanning Association, says in the article. “We’ve worked cooperatively with the Food and Drug Administration ever since they started regulating the industry.”

Studies by the International Agency for Research for Cancer have shown that those who use tanning beds before age 35 are 75 percent more likely to develop melanoma. Individuals who suffer from this cancer are frequently forced to pay higher premiums for health and life insurance coverage.

This article was originally published by Life Quotes, Inc.