If you’re easing out of your winter cocoon and planning to slip into a tanning bed for a bronzing, consider the poor moth drawn to a flame: it’s headed for trouble. Experts agree that ultraviolet (UV) radiation from indoor tanning devices damages the skin and increases your risk of cancer.
In its ads, tanning device seller Mercola promised its tanning beds, booths, and lamps were “safe,” would “slash your risk of cancer,” and emitted a red light that could reverse the signs of aging. Mercola’s ads also claimed the FDA endorsed indoor tanning as safe. Not so, says the FTC, which announced that Joseph Mercola and his companies, Mercola.com, LLC, and Mercola.com Health Resources, LLC, will refund up to $5.3 million to customers under a settlement with the agency.