RFK Jr. Wants Teens To Be Able To Use Tanning Beds - And The Logic Behind It Is Bonkers

[dalton99a]

https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/rfk-jr-wants-teens-able-204330368.html

RFK Jr. Wants Teens To Be Able To Use Tanning Beds — And The Logic Behind It Is Bonkers
Brittany Wong
Updated Thu, May 7, 2026 at 3:43 PM CDT

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to make America’s teens tan again.

To the dismay of dermatologists, Kennedy abruptly withdrew a proposed Food and Drug Administration (FDA) rule in March that would have banned minors from using indoor tanning beds.

Nearly a dozen states ― including California, Illinois, Minnesota, as well as Washington, D.C. ― already ban the use of tanning beds for minors. Several other states ― Kentucky, Idaho, Indiana and Michigan ― require written consent from a parent or guardian.

The federal rule, first proposed in 2015, would have required anyone over 18 who goes to a tanning salon to sign a waiver acknowledging the risks, including skin cancer, severe burns, and other early skin aging.

...

[Jim__]

1. 'But Kennedy ... wants to end the government's "aggressive suppression of ... sunshine," '

Yea, sunshine. Like we get from tanning beds.

[no_hypocrisy]

2. FFS! On what "medical" basis? To activate Vitamin D?

Look, I grew up with teenagers in the Seventies where they slathered Coppertone, Hawaiian Tropic Coconut Oil, and other baby oil brands. And sun-bathing for 6+ hours regularly. Their skin was a nice roasted bronze. How many of them are undergoing treatment for melanoma and/or wrinkles and/or skin resembling cow hide?

The sun is dangerous enough and you can't control teens from laying down towels and roasting themselves.

But tanning beds can be regulated and restricted.

Another RFK, Jr. crackpot idea.

[Ritabert]

3. The poster boy for staying away from tanning salons says what?

[Solly Mack]

4. Spreading the wackadoodle is his goal.

Death is the result.

[Hey Joe]

5. Exactly

More sick, dying and dead Americans!

MAHA BABY!!

[purr-rat beauty]

6. In their pervy minds...

MAHA means Make America Hot (not healthy) Again

[Ray Bruns]

7. The man is insane.

[twodogsbarking]

8. He looks like he is a carrier for every infectious disease known to man and a few not yet discovered.

[Bobstandard]

9. OP headline promises the logic. So what is it?

[FakeNoose]

12. Maybe you missed this part (in the OP link)

What Dermatologists Think Of MAHA’s Tanning Logic

The dermatologists we spoke to had plenty to say about MAHA’s “solar callus” ― or “sun tolerance” ― theory, which holds that gradually building up a “base tan” helps the skin tolerate sun exposure without burning.

“There is a small kernel of physiologic truth here that is being stretched into something it is not,” Del Campo said. “Yes, repeated UV exposure causes the skin to produce more melanin, and yes, that pigmentation does offer a tiny amount of protection against future burning. But a tan is your skin telling you it has been injured. It is a damage response, not a shield.”

“Solar callus” is a made-up, non-medical term.

“It’s not a recognized dermatologic concept. You will not find it in any textbooks or peer-reviewed literature,” Del Campo said. “It is essentially a marketing phrase that has taken on a life of its own through social media.”

Rossi stressed, too, that a tan is not protection; it’s evidence of real damage.

“Especially if you get red or pink or burn before,” Rossi said. “Your skin tanned because DNA injury already occurred. The melanin response is reactive, not preventive. An SPF equivalent of a deep tan is roughly SPF 3-4, which will not protect from another burn.”

- more at link -

This explains why certified physicians and dermatologists wanted to keep kids out of the suntanning beds. Now Bobby Brainworms has defeated those efforts. The article differentiates between the UVA and UVB rays, and how each damages the skin different ways.

[WarGamer]

10. If proposed in 2015... why was it never put into law?

[peggysue2]

11. My dermatologist (who I saw just yesterday) would like to have a word

I mean really, we're suppose to get with this program because a guy whose face looks like burnt leather says so?

The medical establishment has known for decades the cost of sun damage to our skin, our largest body organ. I've spent the last ten years with a variety of skin cancer treatments because of over-exposure to the Jersey shore/sun as a kid.

Bobby Kennedy has no medical license, obviously no common sense, just a bunch of kinked fans who will follow his every word. Which is fine if you want to ruin your own health and skin as a mindless adult, pretend that the world was healthier 100-150 years ago before vaccines, antibiotics, pasteurized milk, whatever.

But give the kids a break. As adults, we're suppose to be protecting them, not ruining their futures.

I'm so tired of this insanity.

[area51]

13. Let me get this straight:

Teens can't choose to be their authentic selves regarding being Trans, but they can choose to endanger their lives by using tanning beds. Got it.

[spanone]

14. Idiocracy: the Documentary.