ETS Tanning Bed Blog

As the NHL's Chicago Blackhawks hold a one-game lead in the 2010 Stanley Cup finals, news of the team's enhanced vitamin D treatments has been published by Dr. John Jacob Cannell, executive director of the Vitamin D Council.

In May's Vitamin D Newsletter published by the council, Cannell writes, "The Chicago Blackhawks are the first vitamin D team in modern professional sports history. According to my sources, the Chicago Blackhawk team physicians began diagnosing and treating vitamin D deficiency in all Blackhawk players about 18 months ago. Apparently, most players are on 5,000 IU per day. After many losing seasons, last year the Blackhawks came out of nowhere to get to the Western conference finals. This year they are playing even better. According to my sources, improved athletic performance is only one of the benefits for the Blackhawk players. The other is a reduction in the number and severity of colds and flu and a reduction in the number and severity of repetitive use injuries."

Read more about the team's increased vitamin D usage at http://tinyurl.com/3xsba4x.

Uvalux this month in its June newsletter highlights the importance of spa products and services, including massage and teeth-whitening systems, to increasing revenue streams and salon owners' bottom lines. The marketing minute focuses entirely on tips for offering spa products and services, including "try it before you buy it." There are some important upcoming events in our indoor tanning industry as well. Check out Uvalux's June 2010 newsletter at http://tinyurl.com/2aut2vg.

In the June 2010 Vitamin D Newsletter from KBD, there are a host of fresh, new articles highlighting the importance of Vitamin D to Americans, including a compilation of recent news articles, including "Most Americans Vitamin D Deficient: About 70 percent of the population of the United States has insufficient levels of vitamin D, a U.S. researcher says."

DENVER — It’s prime season for tanning beds, when proms and spring beach vacations prompt young women to pack indoor salons in search of bronze skin to go with their new bikinis. But business is slow this spring. Health warnings about the skin cancer risks of tanning beds, combined with consumers forgoing nonessentials in this recession, have the nation’s estimated 18,000 tanning salons on hard times. Now they’re bracing for another hit: A 10 percent tax on tanning bed use starts nationwide this July, part of the federal health care overhaul.

“Will I be here next year? I don’t know,” said Kristi Alpers, owner of Cherry Creek Tans in Denver.

The tax will add 90 cents to a few dollars for a single tanning session, depending on the machine. It’s a fee she thinks will bankrupt her.

Many tanning salon owners have been confused about how the tax will be implemented.

It’s not yet clear how tanning booth revenue must be reported to the Internal Revenue Service or how the law will affect combination packages, which salons use to provide a range of services — including tanning bed use — for a flat fee.

Whether or not the law will affect gyms and spas that provide the option of using tanning beds as part of their membership fees is also uncertain.

On Friday, a tax attorney for Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP finally reached the attorney at the U.S. Treasury responsible for drafting regulations concerning the tan tax. Below is the most recent information on implementation of the tan tax.

The Treasury official basically said that she was not able to say much because the guidance was still moving through the system, which implies that recommendations on the major policy decisions have been made by staff but that the ultimate decision makers have not yet reached a final decision. She said that the treasury department plans to issue temporary and proposed regulations in the near future, which means the guidance will be effective immediately upon issuance.

The Treasury official was not willing to estimate the time until the guidance would be issued but that is when she said that treasury department definitely understands that the delay is having an adverse affect on business in the indoor tanning industry.

The results of a new study reported today in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention are contradictory.

A study out just two weeks ago from the MD Anderson Cancer Center found that UVA light does not cause melanoma. Another study out this week claims that most sunscreens could actually promote the growth of skin cancers because they contain Vitamin A. A study from a research affiliate of the Harvard medical school found that tanning offers protection against melanomas. And, a number of other studies and experts also tout the cancer-fighting benefits of Vitamin D, which is produced by the skin with moderate UV exposure.