Indoor tanning is big business in the United States, with over 20,000 tanning salons having cropped up since the 1970s, when this concept first emerged. Tanning salons cash in on the growing awareness about the ill effects of overexposure to sunlight. However, the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Medical Association warn against both forms of tanning, sun and sunless.

Tanning salons use tanning beds and lamps to achieve a sunless tan. Tanning beds generally emit a mixture of ultraviolet A (UVA) and ultraviolet B (UVB) rays that are parts of the ultraviolet spectrum, and associated with skin cancer and premature aging. People associated with the indoor tanning industry state that ultraviolet rays cause skin cancer only if skin burn occurs. They argue that only a small amount of rays is required to obtain a tan, therefore, it is safe unlike a burn.

Both the American Academy of Dermatology Association and the American Medical Association have called for a ban on tanning equipment for cosmetic purposes. The American Academy of Dermatology Association urges that minors should not be allowed to use tanning devices and all such devices should display a warning about the hazards involved. It also states that no claims about safe tanning should be made by any person or salon.

Research indicates that young people, especially young women, often visit tanning salons despite being aware of the dangers involved, simply because they feel that a tan is attractive. Although several states in the US regulate the operation of tanning salons through legislation, the laws are not always severe and are rarely implemented strictly.

Therefore, parents, teachers, and medical associations should assume a proactive role to educate and convince young people that tan is a sign of a skin ailment. If young people assume a healthy lifestyle and stay away both from sun and sunless tanning, the rates of skin cancer will drop in the United States.