Investigation Finds Chain Falsely Claimed Indoor Tanning Posed No Significant Cancer Risk And Could Even Prevent Certain Cancers
Some Locations Also Encouraged Frequent Indoor Tanning And Targeted High School Students With Prom Specials
NEW YORK – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced that his office has reached an agreement with Salon Management USA, LLC, a New York Company that licenses the use of the “Beach Bum Tanning” trademark under which Beach Bum Tanning salons operate and BBT Retail, Inc. a New Jersey company (collectively “Beach Bum”). Among other allegations, the Attorney General’s investigation found that Beach Bum made false and misleading health claims about indoor tanning, suggesting that the practices posed no significant cancer risk and could even prevent certain cancers.
The agreement prohibits Beach Bum from making health claims, from offering “unlimited” tanning packages, and from targeting high school students. Beach Bum also agreed to comply with all New York State tanning regulations. Beach Bum paid $20,000 in costs and penalties.
“Today’s agreement is part of a continuing effort to protect consumers from the documented skin cancer risks of indoor tanning,” said Attorney General Schneiderman. “Indoor tanning salons should not make misleading health claims when there are rising cancer rates associated with indoor tanning, particularly for young people.”
Beach Bum Tanning salons operate approximately fifty salons in five states; there are currently twenty-nine Beach Bum branded salons in New York with locations in Manhattan, Staten Island, Queens, Nassau, Suffolk, Rockland, and Westchester Counties, nine of which are corporately owned.
Indoor tanning increases the risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer – which is responsible for 9,000 deaths in the United States each year. Indoor tanning also increases the risk of other skin cancers such as basal cell carcinoma and squamous cell carcinoma. While usually not fatal, these cancers can cause noticeable disfigurement. In addition to increasing the risk of skin cancer, UV exposure can also harm the immune system and cause premature skin aging. New York State tanning law currently prohibits tanning for children under 17 and requires parental consent for children between the ages of 17 and 18. Additionally, New York law requires that current tanning hazards information sheets and acknowledgement forms be distributed to tanning patrons and that free protective eyewear be made available to tanning patrons.
Beach Bum’s website featured a “Tanning Truth” section that provided links to organizations that promoted tanning and contained many unsupported cancer-related health statements such as “Many scientists and dermatologists have taken firm positions that melanomas’ connection to UV light is unclear or doesn’t exist at all,” “Many forms of cancer - including breast, colon, prostate and ovarian tumors - now appear to be retarded or even prevented by regular exposure to ultraviolet light,” and “…customers of tanning salons had NO SIGNIFICANT INCREASE in melanoma” (emphasis in original). These statements misrepresent the risks of indoor tanning and lead consumers to believe that indoor tanning is not only risk-free, but contributes to improved health. In fact, indoor tanning poses risks for everyone and is particularly harmful when initiated at younger ages.
Investigators also visited a number of Beach Bum Tanning salons that offer UV tanning and spray-tanning services and found numerous violations of New York State tanning laws, including failure to provide required warnings and acknowledgment forms to consumers, failure to possess parental consent forms, and failure to provide protective eyewear at no additional cost, a public health hazard.
Some Beach Bum locations offered LED or “red light” treatments that were advertised as providing various health related benefits. However, these red lamp devices are approved by FDA only for cosmetic purposes. Beach Bum has ceased offering red lamp services at all locations. Beach Bum also promotes “sunless” airbrush and spray-tanning services. The investigation discovered that a Beach Bum promotional video featured the application of a spray tan without the use of protective eye, nose and mouth guards as required by law. The agreement requires Beach Bum spray-tan or “airbrush” promotions to adequately depict required safety measures.
Beach Bum has also agreed to cease prom related and other UV service promotions that target high school students and not to promote spray-tanning services that are combined with UV services offers to high school students. Beach Bum also ceased the promotion of “unlimited” tanning services to members of legal tanning age during the course of this investigation. These promotions may imply that frequent indoor tanning is safe and may encourage more frequent indoor tanning.
The action announced today is one of a number of steps taken by the Attorney General to help educate the public and raise awareness of the harms associated with indoor tanning. The Attorney General’s office has released a brochure on indoor tanning safety that provides important information on the risks and harms associated with UV tanning
In 2013, the Attorney General launched an investigation into suspected misleading advertising in the indoor tanning salon industry. The Attorney General reached settlements in March 2014 with HT Franchising Management LLC, the franchisor of the Hollywood Tans salons, and Hollywood Tans NYC, a Manhattan-based franchise of the national chain, requiring them to stop making health-related representations to promote tanning services. The Attorney General also reached a settlement in November 2015 with Planet Fitness, which offers UV tanning at certain gyms, to stop offering “unlimited” tanning, to provide adequate training to employees who oversee indoor tanning services and to stop making health-related claims to promote red-lamp devices. Planet Fitness also paid costs and penalties.
The Attorney General also has two lawsuits currently pending against Portofino Spas, LLC (“Portofino”) and Total Tan, Inc.(“Total Tan”), alleging that both franchises engaged in false advertising by denying or minimizing scientific evidence linking tanning to an increased cancer risk; promoting indoor tanning as a safe way to reap the benefits of vitamin D and other purported health benefits; and asserting the safety of indoor tanning compared to tanning outdoors. In addition, the Attorney General alleged that Portofino and Total Tan violated certain New York indoor tanning laws. The lawsuits alleged that Portofino failed to provide the required notification of tanning health hazards and consent forms and that Total Tan failed to provide protective eyewear at no additional cost.
The Beach Bum settlement was handled by Assistant Attorney General Ellen Fried and Bureau Chief Jane M. Azia, of the Consumer Frauds and Protection Bureau. The tanning salon investigations and litigation are being handled by the Consumer Frauds Bureau, the Health Care Bureau and the Environmental Protection Bureau. The Health Care Bureau is led by Lisa Landau and the Environmental Protection Bureau is led by Lemuel Srolovic. The Health Care and Environmental Protection Bureaus are in the Division of Social Justice led by Executive Deputy Attorney General Alvin Bragg.
Consumers with questions or concerns about health care matters may call the Attorney General’s Health Care Bureau Helpline at 1-800-428-9071.