Law & Order: TSU (Tanning Salon Unit)

Five female college students posed as pale 15-year-old girls in need of tans.

Chung-chung.

They called 3,647 indoor tanning facilities across the country and inquired about making appointments.

Chung-chung.

They asked if they would need written permission from their parents or if their parents would need to come with them. They also asked how many times they could tan during the first week.  

These are their stories.

Chung-chung.

The undercover operation was orchestrated by researchers from California, Minnesota and Rhode Island who wanted to assess how tanning businesses complied with laws and federal guidelines regarding exposure to UV radiation. UVR from tanning lamps has been associated with melanoma and squamous cell cancer, and the risks are elevated for those who start using tanning beds before the age of 35.

The phone survey included tanning salons, day spas and beauty salons in 116 cities throughout the country.  The results are published in Tuesday’s edition of Archives of Dermatology.

At the time of the survey, only 20 states required teens to obtain parental consent in order to use tanning beds. However, 87% of the facilities surveyed told the callers they would need to get written permission. In addition, two states required parents to accompany teens, and 14% of the tanning providers insisted that Mom or Dad come along for the appointment.

Facilities with the most tanning beds were most likely to require parental consent and accompaniment, according to the study. Having laws in place helped – businesses in states that had youth access laws were nearly three times as likely to require parental consent than businesses in states without such laws.

Of states that require parental consent, the one with the lowest level of compliance was Georgia, at 72.5%. Four states – Louisiana, Maine, New Hampshire and South Carolina – all got perfect scores. Compliance was generally better in states that conducted inspections at least once a year, the study found.

However, only 11% of all tanning establishments followed the Food and Drug Administration’s recommendation that newbies limit their exposure to only three tanning sessions in their first week. In fact, the average number of sessions allowed during the first week was six, and 71% of businesses told the undercover callers that they could tan seven days a week if they’d like, according to the study.

The researchers chalked this up to a lack of “enforceable requirements” to limit the number of times new customers could partake of tanning services.

In the absence of any regulations, many salons actually encourage excess tanning by offering all-you-can-tan discount packages. The researchers found an inverse correlation between the number of tanning beds in a salon and its willingness to abide by the FDA guideline: For every additional five beds, a salon was 29% less likely to comply, according to the study.

Asking parents to protect their kids from the harmful effects of UV radiation hasn’t been enough to ensure that teens don’t overdo it with indoor tanning, the researchers observed. Their conclusion: More states should follow the World Health Organization’s advice and make underage tanning a crime.

-- Karen Kaplan

Photo: Should tanning salons be off-limits to minors? Credit: Al Grillo/Associated Press

Start looking for another way to treat those pimples

Our love affair with antibiotics just keeps taking its toll.

A recent MSNBC piece, "Super acne? Drug-resistant zits on the rise," quotes several dermatologists as saying that Propionibacterium acnes is not as easily cowed by the drugs tetracycline and erythromycin as it once was.

The story states: "As antibiotic-resistant acne becomes a growing concern, dermatologists are moving away from using antibiotics as a primary weapon against acne, fearing that the long-held go-to treatments may be contributing to communal antibiotic resistance. If they do prescribe antibiotics, it may be for only a limited time, usually a few months, and it's often combined with another medication that can lessen the drug resistance. Previously, patients might have continued on antibiotics for years."

The piece goes on to point out that the bigger, more serious issue is one of antibiotic resistance in general.

Here's an earlier warning from WebMD: "Drug-resistant acne: All in the family; antibiotic-resistant acne germ can spread within families."

Another one from NPR: "Doubts raised over antibiotic use for acne."

And still an earlier one from the British Journal of Dermatology: "Antibiotic-resistant acne: lessons from Europe."

-- Tami Dennis

Photo: Take care of your skin. Antibiotics may become less useful in that respect. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

FDA approves product to plump eyelashes

A glaucoma drug that has been on the market for years has been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for a new use: making eyelashes longer and fuller.

Allergan Inc. of Irvine announced Friday that the company had received the government's blessing to market Latisse for a condition called hypotrichosis of the eyelashes. Eyelash hypotrichosis is defined as not having enough eyelashes. While mascara has served mankind well for many years, Latisse is the first science-based product to enhance eyelashes and it stands to earn Allergan an estimated $500 million a year, according to the company. The drug is a once-daily prescription treatment applied to the upper eyelashes with a disposable applicator. Studies show lashes grow darker, fuller and longer in  eight to 16 weeks, however, continued use is necessary to maintain the benefits. Available by prescription only, Latisse will sell for about $120 for a one-month supply.

How Latisse works is a bit of a mystery. The active ingredient, bimatoprost, is a lipid that binds to prostaglandin receptors. These receptors are found in hair follicles. The phase-three study of Latisse revealed no serious side effects but darkening of the eyelid skin may occur as well as skin sensitivity and eye redness. During the FDA hearings on Latisse earlier this month, some doctors expressed worry that teen-agers might over-use the product and suffer unknown side effects. The safety of Latisse in pediatric patients has not been established.

Allergan will announce a time line for distribution of the product in January.

-- Shari Roan

Photo: Before and after photos of a patient using Latisse. Credit: Allergan Inc.