Use of Indoor Tanning Devices by High School Students in the United States, 2009

The objectives of this study were to provide estimates of indoor tanning device use among US high school students and provide baseline data before implementation of a 10% excise tax on indoor tanning device use mandated by recent federal health care reform legislation. We examined the frequency of indoor tanning device use by using data from the 2009 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Overall, 15.6% of students used an indoor tanning device during the 12 months before the survey; almost half of those students used an indoor tanning device 10 or more times. Reported use and frequency of use varied by age, sex, and race/ethnicity. Given the high prevalence of indoor tanning device use among US high school students and the associated risk of melanoma, strategies to reduce exposure must be examined.