| Comment Number: | 546631-00023 |
| Received: | 1/28/2010 |
| Commenter: | Neil Capper |
| Organization: | R Neil Capper MD |
| State: | AL |
| Agency: | Federal Trade Commission |
| Rule: | Proposed Consent Agreement In the Matter of the Indoor Tanning Association; FTC File No. 082 3159 |
| No Attachments |
Comments:
I am so pleased to see that the FTC has addressed the misrepresentations of the Tanning Trade Industry about the benefits of indoor tanning. It would be beneficial to require the organization to similarly advertise corrections of their misrepresentations. This is a public health issue. A cease-and-desist order alone, unfortunately, will not undo the public perception that resulted from the ad campaign. At the very least, continued monitoring of advertising and press releases from the trade association would be in the public interest. Unfortunately, the trade industry has a record of serving the financial interests of its members, and not serving the public interest. We Dermatologists try to educate one patient at a time, and have paid for public announcements, but studies to date of tanning bed use show that we have been spitting into the wind. FTC monitoring and oversight with clear guidelines will help to overcome misrepresentations.