FACT: According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, seventy-one percent of tanning salon patrons are girls and women aged 16-29.
MORE FACTS: Investigators working for the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, posing as fair-skinned teenage girls, contacted 300 tanning salons nationwide and found:
· Nearly all salons denied the known risks of indoor tanning.
· Four out of five salons falsely claimed that indoor tanning is beneficial to a young person’s health.
· Salons used many approaches to minimize the health risks of indoor tanning.
· Tanning salons fail to follow FDA recommendations on tanning frequency.
· Tanning salons target teenage girls in their advertisements.
STILL MORE FACTS: According to the Skin Cancer Foundation, melanoma is the most common form of cancer for young adults 25-29 years old and the second most common form of cancer for young people 15-29 years old. Indoor ultraviolet (UV) tanners are 74 percent more likely to develop melanoma than those who have never tanned indoors.
THE BOTTOM LINE: There are thousands of young adults with a history of indoor tanning and a diagnosis of advanced melanoma who are now fighting for their lives. I’m just a recovering business attorney who never set foot on the plaintiff’s side of the bar and perhaps I’ve read too many Grisham thrillers, but even I can ‘connect the dots’ and see an emerging and growing field of personal injury law practice in representing the victims of the tanning salon industry. Can anyone say “product liability” based on “failure to provide adequate disclosure of the risks of using the product as intended”?
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I am a Stage III Survivor of Malignant Melanoma. Next month marks 12 years since my diagnosis, 7 years in remission. My Melanoma was caused by tanning beds. I hope others learn from our stories! That "healthy glow" isn't worth it!
ReplyDeleteI am definitely a poster child of someone who could sue.
ReplyDeleteI won't, but I could.
Great post.
Yes, I think you probably are but I respect whatever choice you make in this regard. Thanks.
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