Enforcement of state indoor tanning laws in the United States.
BACKGROUND
Twenty-eight US states have passed legislation for indoor tanning facilities. To our knowledge, whether these state laws are actually enforced has not been evaluated previously in all 28 states. Therefore, we interviewed key informants in these states to assess enforcement practices.


METHODS
Two trained interviewers used a structured survey instrument to interview 28 key informants who were knowledgeable about enforcement practices for laws regarding indoor tanning. Respondents provided information specific to the most populous city in their states.


RESULTS
Licensure for indoor tanning businesses was required in 22 of the 28 cities. Slightly less than half of the cities gave citations to tanning facilities that violated state law. Approximately 32% of the cities did not inspect indoor tanning facilities for compliance with state law, and another 32% conducted inspections less than annually. Of those cities that inspected at all, most conducted unannounced inspections.


CONCLUSIONS
The relatively low rates of annual inspections and citations are of concern. We recommend that future studies assess whether legislation, enforcement practices, or a combination of the 2 affects the practices of indoor tanning facilities or of consumers.
Mayer
Joni A
JA
Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, 9245 Sky Park Ct, Ste 220, San Diego, CA 92123, USA. jmayer@mail.sdsu.edu
Hoerster
Katherine D
KD
Pichon
Latrice C
LC
Rubio
Debra A
DA
Woodruff
Susan I
SI
Forster
Jean L
JL
D001505:Beauty Culture / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays / Q000009:adverse effects*; D014481:United States
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