CLOSE The U.S. Surgeon General issues a report today warning Americans to protect their skin from outdoor and indoor UV light, as skin cancer cases are on the rise. 
 
 In this April 2, 2014 file photo, Teresa Lynch, owner of Dynamic Tanning in DeKalb, Ill., wipes down a tanning bed. T (Photo: Monica Maschak, AP file) 
 
 Those of you tanning or burning your skin this summer should stop — seek the shade, wear a hat and some sunscreen and, whatever you do, stay out of indoor tanning salons. It's a familiar skin-cancer prevention message, but it's coming from a new source: the office of the U.S. Surgeon General. 
 
 The call to action from acting Surgeon General Boris Lushniak, released Tuesday, says that skin cancer is a "major public health problem" and that too much exposure to indoor and outdoor ultraviolet light is a major cause. It comes just two months after the Food and Drug Administration announced it will soon require labels on tanning beds and lamps warning against use by anyone younger than 18. 
 
 But more action is needed, because skin cancers in the United States, unlike many other cancers, continue to rise, the new report says. Nearly 5 million people in the United States are treated for skin cancer each year, at a cost of $8.1 billion, the report says. About 63,000 cases are the most serious kind, melanoma, and about 6,000 of those cases are directly linked to indoor tanning, the report says. 
 
 The report says ultraviolet radiation exposure from indoor tanning is "completely avoidable." 
 
 In an interview, Lushniak, who is a dermatologist, said it is time for additional states to join the several that have banned indoor tanning by minors and the 44 with some kind of restrictions. 
 
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 The report also calls for individuals — of all skin colors — to follow the usual advice for minimizing sun exposure, including using sunscreen, hats, sunglasses and shade. It also says everyone from schools to businesses to urban planners have roles to play in providing shady spaces and making it easier for people to protect themselves. 
 
 The report does not say we should all live in caves. "Enjoy the great outdoors," Lushniak says, "but take steps to protect your skin." 
 
 There's some evidence some people are listening to some of the warnings: Indoor tanning use by teens dropped in recent years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC says 12.8% of teens younger than 18 admitted to indoor tanning in 2013, down from 15.6% in 2009. 
 
 The World Health Organization called indoor tanning devices cancer-causing in 2009. 
 
 The report "is a major step forward in the fight against the epidemic of skin cancer, but the value of this step will be measured in the follow-up," says Tim Turnham, executive director of the Melanoma Research Foundation. The foundation was among several health groups, including the American Academy of Dermatology and the American Cancer Society, praising the report. 
 
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 An industry group, the Indoor Tanning Association, said in a statement that tanning critics "always exaggerate the risks of exposure to ultraviolet light in order to get the attention of the public, the media and the government." The group says ultraviolet radiation from a sunbed is no worse than that from the sun and that both are healthful in moderation, as long as skin doesn't get burned – ideas Lushniak disputed in a press conference to release the report. 
 
 "Tanned skin is damaged skin," he said. 
 
 The industry group also has said that use by teens should be up to parents, not government. 
 
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 Surgeon General issues call to action to prevent skin cancer 
 
 Skin cancer rates rising: most cases are preventable 
 
 Skin cancer, the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the United States, is a major public health problem that requires immediate action, according to a new Call to Action released today by the U.S. Surgeon General. 
 
 Even though most skin cancers can be prevented, rates of skin cancer, including melanoma, are increasing in the United States. Nearly 5 million people in the U.S. are treated for skin cancer every year, at an average annual cost of $8.1 billion. It is also one of the most common types of cancer among U.S. teens and young adults. 
 
 A key message in today’s report is that although people with lighter skin are at higher risk, anyone can get skin cancer—and it can be disfiguring, even deadly. Over the last three decades, the number of Americans who have had skin cancer is estimated to be higher than the number for all other cancers combined. 
 
 “While many other cancers, such as lung cancer, are decreasing, rates of melanoma -- the deadliest form of skin cancer -- are increasing,” said Assistant Secretary for Health Howard K. Koh, M.D., M.P.H. “As a skin oncologist who worked in this field for many years, I have cared for both the young and old with skin cancers. Almost all of these cancers were caused by unnecessary ultraviolet radiation exposure, usually from excessive time in the sun or from the use of indoor tanning devices.” 
 
 Melanoma is the deadliest form of skin cancer. Each year, more than 63,000 new cases are diagnosed in the U.S. and nearly 9,000 people die from this disease. Rates of melanoma increased more than 200 percent from 1973 to 2011. Melanoma is also one of the most common types of cancer among U.S. teens and young adults. 
 
 According to research cited in the Call to Action, more than 400,000 cases of skin cancer, about 6,000 of which are melanomas, are estimated to be related to indoor tanning in the U.S. each year. Currently, as many as 44 states plus the District of Columbia have some type of law or regulation related to indoor tanning, but nearly one out of every three white women aged 16 to 25 years engages in indoor tanning each year. 
 
 “Tanned skin is damaged skin, and we need to shatter the myth that tanned skin is a sign of health,” said Acting Surgeon General Boris D. Lushniak, M.D., M.P.H. “When people tan or get sunburned, they increase their risk of getting skin cancer later in life.” 
 
 The Surgeon General’s Call to Action helps to educate consumers by providing everyday steps they can take to lead healthy and active lives while being outdoors. These steps include wearing protective gear (such as a hat, sunglasses, and other protective clothing) and seeking shade along with the use of a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of 15 or higher to protect any exposed skin, especially during midday hours. 
 
 “We want all Americans to lead healthy, active lives,” Dr. Lushniak said, “We all need to take an active role to prevent skin cancer by protecting our skin while being outdoors and avoiding intentional sun exposure and indoor tanning.” 
 
 The report calls on all sectors of Americans society, including the business, health care, education, government and nonprofit sectors, as well as families and individuals, to do more. Examples include communities providing shade in outdoor settings, health care providers counseling patients on the importance of using sun protection, and educational institutions discouraging indoor tanning. 
 
 Read the Call to Action to learn how to prevent skin cancer at www.surgeongeneral.gov. 
 
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 Follow the Surgeon General on Twitter: @Surgeon_General 
 
 Join the conversation: #SGSunSafe 
 
 
 
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 Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other news materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news. 
 
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– Your doctor, your mom, and your shade-obsessed friends have probably all told you already about the dangers of suntanning—and now the surgeon general is jumping on the anti-bronzing bandwagon for the first time. Boris Lushniak today called skin cancer a “major public health problem,” and pointed a finger at outdoor and indoor UV light, reports USA Today. His warning cites rising skin-cancer numbers as the push behind the official warning: The report says that nearly 5 million Americans are treated for the disease annually to the tune of $8.1 billion. That includes 63,000 new cases each year and 9,000 yearly deaths, reports the Washington Post. What's more, melanoma cases are increasing as other types of cancer are decreasing. The statement posted on the Department of Health and Human Services website implores people to take the usual precautions in the sun—including wearing sunglasses, a high-SPF lotion, and other protective gear—but Lushniak, a dermatologist, also places special emphasis on “completely avoidable” ultraviolet radiation exposure from indoor tanning beds and booths. The FDA piggybacked on Lushniak’s comments with its own official take today, reminding the public about its mandate for sunlamp labels “stating that they should not be used on anyone younger than 18 years.” The Indoor Tanning Association says in a statement that UV light from both the sun and sunlamps is “healthful in moderation,” as USA Today puts it, a claim that Lushniak disputes. “Tanned skin is damaged skin,” he says in the HHS statement. “We need to shatter the myth that tanned skin is a sign of health.”