New Study Finds False Advertising used by Indoor Tanning and Tobacco Industries

A new study has found that the indoor tanning industry is using similar advertising strategies used by the tobacco industry. In a report published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, dermatologist David A Jones, MD presented results of an observational study that concluded that both the tobacco and tanning industries use advertising strategies to counteract the health concerns in their products. The industries want to positively influence the consumer’s perception of smoking and indoor tanning. The industries also want to drive demand.

Dr. Jones says, “ The indoor tanning industry reported domestic sales in excess of $ 2.7 billion in 2007 and it relies heavily on advertising to sell the misleading idea of a “safe” and “healthy” tan to the public. Even though it is well documented that UV radiation from natural sunlight and indoor tanning devices is a known cause of skin cancer, the public is not always aware of the serious health risks associated with indoor tanning- and the tanning industry’s advertising practices capitalize on this fact.”

Dr. Jones and his colleague, Jennifer Herrmann, MD, reviewed 2,000 advertisements from four large tobacco-advertising databases. Dr. Jones and Dr. Herrman identified 4 key strategy profiles that were used to sell the product. These strategies included:

1) Mitigating health concerns

2) Appealing to a sense of social acceptance

3) Emphasizing psychotropic effects

4) And targeting specific population segments

A collection of 350 tanning advertisements were compiled and evaluated based on the 4 key strategies listed above.

In order to combat the growing concerns of UV exposure, the indoor tanning industry created “harm reduction” campaigns similar to the tobacco industry. An example,is an advertisement promoting tanning beds s “UVB- free” or “99% pure UVA” used in the 1980s. This was a time when research began confirming that UVB rays are carcinogenetic and UVA rays are just as harmful and can cause skin cancer. The ads fails to mention this.

In January 2010 the FTC recognized the seriousness of the indoor tanning advertisements and it issues a consent order. The consent order prohibits the Indoor Tanning Association from making false health and safety claims about indoor tanning.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/new-study-finds-similar-advertising-strategies-used-by-indoor-tanning-and-tobacco-industries-85361542.html