FDA backs off stricter tanning bed rules with RFK Jr.'s support

Shortly before being nominated for the job, Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a now-infamous post on X, in which he pledged to end the federal government's "aggressive suppression" of – among many things – "sunshine."

That appears to have included artificial sources of sunshine. As in tanning beds.

This week, the Food and Drug Administration abandoned a long-running proposal to ban people under 18 from using tanning beds, also known as sunlamps. The rules, proposed in late 2015, would have also required those who do use them to periodically sign forms acknowledging the risks of skin cancer.

Medical groups representing doctors and patients were dismayed at the agency's decision to back away from tougher regulation of the devices, which are available at tanning salons and some major gym chains.