Colleges & Tanning ... Looking Back on 2015

2015 was the first year of Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds' existence. It was a busy year, starting with Tanning Bed Dangers Awareness Month in January and expanding to five different projects and a membership of over 2600. See these blogs (Road to Destruction ... for Tanning Beds and Birth of an Anti-Tanning Grassroots Movement) for info on how and why this group came to be.

It was also an educational year, concentrating our efforts on the connections between indoor tanning and colleges/universities. Too many colleges are making it much too convenient for their students to participate in the dangerous behavior of using tanning beds. Do they not care about the health and safety of their students? Or are college administrators unaware of the dangers of tanning beds? Or is this part of the plan to lure students and their money?

I think I learned more than I really wanted to know about colleges and their administration, about off-campus housing and their management, about people. I think I prefer being naive, but there's no going back now.

Emails were sent out to over 300 college presidents on the topic of their university's connection with indoor tanning ... actually they were sent twice because of lack of response. It became apparent that most presidents do not know whether their institutions have a connection with the tanning industry ... but in truth, almost all of them do.

We found that these connections might occur through the Dept of Housing, with partnerships/affiliations with off-campus housing offering tanning beds free to the students or working through third-party housing location companies that advertise off-campus facilities that include tanning beds among their amenities on the university's web sites.

Or indoor tanning connections might be seen through the Athletic Dept, with sponsorships by tanning salons or advertising at games or in event programs often arranged by third-party marketing companies. Some tanning salons claim to be the "official" tanning salon for the cheer teams of various colleges. The University of Louisville has a notorious connection with the tanning industry according to this article!

The Finance Office might provide a link to tanning by providing student cash cards that can be used to pay for tanning services at participating tanning salons. Grand Valley State University in Michigan claimed that they would continue to allow tanning salons to participate in their cash card program because it would be breaking the law to not do so. I never received a copy of that law from them even after asking several times.

The Student Government Association is another route that permits indoor tanning to connect with college students, raising funds by offering a student ID discount program and allowing local tanning salons to participate.

The student newspapers of many colleges are not supervised or regulated by the university so articles promoting the use of tanning beds or advertising by tanning salons can and do appear as well. That's an area we will be concentrating on next.

Most colleges, at least the larger ones, have some connections to tanning. Some even house tanning beds on their campuses, and it is becoming more common for them to be in their dorms! See this article about the direction student housing is headed. Colleges have become large businesses first, institutions of higher learning second ... or so it appears to me.

For example (just one of many), through conversations with various officials at Purdue University, I learned that the tanning salon located on their campus isn't technically (according to them) on their campus. That block of retail on the edge of their campus is owned by the Purdue Research Foundation, which I was told had no connection to Purdue University. Yet the President of Purdue is the Chairman of the Board of the research foundation ... which seems like a pretty strong connection to me! Check out this article that reported this info about Purdue.

At this point we have heard back from most of the colleges (after contacting them through multiple emails, Facebook posts and messages, and tweets). See our results in the Notes section of Pull the Plug's page in our Good, Bad, and Ugly list. But we are far from done with this issue! It appears that the FDA will be putting a ban on using tanning beds on those kids younger than 18, but that still leaves those young people 18-21 vulnerable. Their lives deserve to be protected, too! So on to 2016 ...

Melanoma Mama (Jaime's mom, Donna)

http://www.facebook.com/donna.h.regen
http://www.facebook.com/jaime.regen.rea (Remember Jaime)

http://www.facebook.com/BanTheBeds (Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds)
https://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetpea321 (Jjem Creations)
http://stores.ebay.com/Sweetpea321 (Jjem Creations)

Birth of an Anti-Tanning Bed Grassroots Movement

Previously published on May 21, 2015, at http://www.disruptivewomen.net/2015/05/21/birth-of-the-pull-the-plug-on-tanning-beds/

Eight years ago, my daughter Jaime died from melanoma, which the doctors believed was from her use of tanning beds in high school and college. She was diagnosed when she was 20 and fought the evil beast of a disease until her death at 29.

My Jaime's story gave me the passion and conviction to become "the indoor tanning industry's worst nightmare." The day after Jaime's funeral I began going after the indoor tanning industry and their lies and deception. I drew their wrath by commenting on magazine and newspaper articles on the internet about the dangers of tanning beds (see http://www.vice.com/read/i-was-paid-to-go-undercover-for-the-tanning-industry-122). Social media was in its infancy; Facebook and Twitter had not yet been born.

 

I also contacted my state legislators about writing a bill to ban teens from using tanning beds but I was ignored, and it would take several years before the Texas legislature would have such a bill introduced and passed ... but it did. Two of them in fact. The first one was weak, but the one that followed was a full under 18 ban, and I testified with Jaime's story for both of these laws.

As Facebook grew and melanoma patients found each other, many groups were formed. There were groups for skin cancer or melanoma in general, groups for survivors, groups for support, groups for mothers of melanoma patients, groups for care-givers, groups for individual melanoma journeys, groups for fundraising, groups for ocular melanoma, groups for pediatric melanoma, groups for research, groups for grief & remembrance, groups for advocacy, groups for sun safety ... but I recognized there was a void. There was no group or page devoted entirely to the dangers of tanning beds. So Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds was created.

It has been up and running for about 5 months, and now has almost

1,900 members [in 2021, close to 4,100]. January was designated Tanning Bed Dangers Awareness Month since it is the beginning of the peak tanning bed use time for teens wanting that "glow" for Prom and Spring Break. The page has provided photos and information regarding tanning bed risks that have been shared across Facebook and Twitter.

There have also been numerous activities that the members could participate in, and many have done so. These include contacting fitness centers to ask about whether they provide tanning beds at their center and attempting to educate them to the contradiction between promoting a healthy lifestyle and offering cancer in the form of tanning. We have also tried to educate the customers of tanning salons through the salons' Facebook pages and to identify any false advertising and notify the FTC. Another project is to make Facebook aware that tanning salons with Facebook pages are advertising "self-harm," which is something that Facebook has a policy against. And our members are kept up to date on the latest legislation in all states.

Our largest project has been writing letters/emails/Facebook messages and posts/tweets to over 200 [now 300+] colleges and universities in the US, asking whether they have tanning beds on campus or in off-campus housing and whether tanning salons are merchants in their college cash card programs. AIM at Melanoma was kind enough to draft up a letter for our use. [Dr. Sherry Pagoto, who did the original research on this topic for the University of Massachusetts, is providing guidance.] We have received over 40 replies, with most stating their tan-free campus policy. Some, like Michigan State, are reviewing their criteria for selecting merchants for the student cash card program or for their discount program. Our message is being heard; colleges now know that concerned people are watching them. They cannot continue to promote, or even be perceived to promote, risky behavior in their students by making tanning beds more easily accessible.

Every day new projects that pertain to tanning beds come to our attention, and there is something in our group for everyone who wants to Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds. I hope to see you there!

Melanoma Mama (Jaime's mom, Donna)

Twitter: @melanoma_mama
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/donna.h.regen
http://www.facebook.com/jaime.regen.rea (Remember Jaime)

http://www.facebook.com/BanTheBeds (Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds)
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/shop/sweetpea321 (Jjem Creations)
Ebay: http://stores.ebay.com/Sweetpea321 (Jjem Creations)

Eight years ago, my daughter Jaime died from melanoma, which the doctors believed was from her use of tanning beds in high school and college. She was diagnosed when she was 20 and fought the evil beast of a disease until her death at 29.
My Jaime’s story gave me the passion and conviction to become “the indoor tanning industry’s worst nightmare.” The day after Jaime’s funeral I began going after the indoor tanning industry and their lies and deception. I drew their wrath by commenting on magazine and newspaper articles on the internet about the dangers of tanning beds (see http://www.vice.com/read/i-was-paid-to-go-undercover-for-the-tanning-industry-122). Social media was in its infancy; Facebook and Twitter had not yet been born.
I also contacted my state legislators about writing a bill to ban teens from using tanning beds but I was ignored, and it would take several years before the Texas legislature would have such a bill introduced and passed … but it did. Two of them in fact. The first one was weak, but the one that followed was a full under 18 ban, and I testified with Jaime’s story for both of these laws.
As Facebook grew and melanoma patients found each other, many groups were formed. There were groups for skin cancer or melanoma in general, groups for survivors, groups for support, groups for mothers of melanoma patients, groups for care-givers, groups for individual melanoma journeys, groups for fundraising, groups for ocular melanoma, groups for pediatric melanoma, groups for research, groups for grief & remembrance, groups for advocacy, groups for sun safety … but I recognized there was a void. There was no group or page devoted entirely to the dangers of tanning beds. So Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds was created.
It has been up and running for about 5 months, and now has almost 1,900 members. January was designated Tanning Bed Dangers Awareness Month since it is the beginning of the peak tanning bed use time for teens wanting that “glow” for Prom and Spring Break. The page has provided photos and information regarding tanning bed risks that have been shared across Facebook and Twitter.
There have also been numerous activities that the members could participate in, and many have done so. These include contacting fitness centers to ask about whether they provide tanning beds at their center and attempting to educate them to the contradiction between promoting a healthy lifestyle and offering cancer in the form of tanning. We have also tried to educate the customers of tanning salons through the salons’ Facebook pages and to identify any false advertising and notify the FTC. Another project is to make Facebook aware that tanning salons with Facebook pages are advertising “self-harm,” which is something that Facebook has a policy against. And our members are kept up to date on the latest legislation in all states.
Our largest project has been writing letters/emails/Facebook messages and posts/tweets to over 200 colleges and universities in the US, asking whether they have tanning beds on campus or in off-campus housing and whether tanning salons are merchants in their college cash card programs. AIM at Melanoma was kind enough to draft up a letter for our use. We have received over 40 replies, with most stating their tan-free campus policy. Some, like Michigan State, are reviewing their criteria for selecting merchants for the student cash card program or for their discount program. Our message is being heard; colleges now know that concerned people are watching them. They cannot continue to promote, or even be perceived to promote, risky behavior in their students by making tanning beds more easily accessible.
Every day new projects that pertain to tanning beds come to our attention, and there is something in our group for everyone who wants to Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds. I hope to see you there!
- See more at: http://www.disruptivewomen.net/2015/05/21/birth-of-the-pull-the-plug-on-tanning-beds/#sthash.J3JLflVi.dpuf

Eight years ago, my daughter Jaime died from melanoma, which the doctors believed was from her use of tanning beds in high school and college. She was diagnosed when she was 20 and fought the evil beast of a disease until her death at 29.
My Jaime’s story gave me the passion and conviction to become “the indoor tanning industry’s worst nightmare.” The day after Jaime’s funeral I began going after the indoor tanning industry and their lies and deception. I drew their wrath by commenting on magazine and newspaper articles on the internet about the dangers of tanning beds (see http://www.vice.com/read/i-was-paid-to-go-undercover-for-the-tanning-industry-122). Social media was in its infancy; Facebook and Twitter had not yet been born.
I also contacted my state legislators about writing a bill to ban teens from using tanning beds but I was ignored, and it would take several years before the Texas legislature would have such a bill introduced and passed … but it did. Two of them in fact. The first one was weak, but the one that followed was a full under 18 ban, and I testified with Jaime’s story for both of these laws.
As Facebook grew and melanoma patients found each other, many groups were formed. There were groups for skin cancer or melanoma in general, groups for survivors, groups for support, groups for mothers of melanoma patients, groups for care-givers, groups for individual melanoma journeys, groups for fundraising, groups for ocular melanoma, groups for pediatric melanoma, groups for research, groups for grief & remembrance, groups for advocacy, groups for sun safety … but I recognized there was a void. There was no group or page devoted entirely to the dangers of tanning beds. So Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds was created.
It has been up and running for about 5 months, and now has almost 1,900 members. January was designated Tanning Bed Dangers Awareness Month since it is the beginning of the peak tanning bed use time for teens wanting that “glow” for Prom and Spring Break. The page has provided photos and information regarding tanning bed risks that have been shared across Facebook and Twitter.
There have also been numerous activities that the members could participate in, and many have done so. These include contacting fitness centers to ask about whether they provide tanning beds at their center and attempting to educate them to the contradiction between promoting a healthy lifestyle and offering cancer in the form of tanning. We have also tried to educate the customers of tanning salons through the salons’ Facebook pages and to identify any false advertising and notify the FTC. Another project is to make Facebook aware that tanning salons with Facebook pages are advertising “self-harm,” which is something that Facebook has a policy against. And our members are kept up to date on the latest legislation in all states.
Our largest project has been writing letters/emails/Facebook messages and posts/tweets to over 200 colleges and universities in the US, asking whether they have tanning beds on campus or in off-campus housing and whether tanning salons are merchants in their college cash card programs. AIM at Melanoma was kind enough to draft up a letter for our use. We have received over 40 replies, with most stating their tan-free campus policy. Some, like Michigan State, are reviewing their criteria for selecting merchants for the student cash card program or for their discount program. Our message is being heard; colleges now know that concerned people are watching them. They cannot continue to promote, or even be perceived to promote, risky behavior in their students by making tanning beds more easily accessible.
Every day new projects that pertain to tanning beds come to our attention, and there is something in our group for everyone who wants to Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds. I hope to see you there!
- See more at: http://www.disruptivewomen.net/2015/05/21/birth-of-the-pull-the-plug-on-tanning-beds/#sthash.J3JLflVi.dpuf

Eight years ago, my daughter Jaime died from melanoma, which the doctors believed was from her use of tanning beds in high school and college. She was diagnosed when she was 20 and fought the evil beast of a disease until her death at 29.
My Jaime’s story gave me the passion and conviction to become “the indoor tanning industry’s worst nightmare.” The day after Jaime’s funeral I began going after the indoor tanning industry and their lies and deception. I drew their wrath by commenting on magazine and newspaper articles on the internet about the dangers of tanning beds (see http://www.vice.com/read/i-was-paid-to-go-undercover-for-the-tanning-industry-122). Social media was in its infancy; Facebook and Twitter had not yet been born.
I also contacted my state legislators about writing a bill to ban teens from using tanning beds but I was ignored, and it would take several years before the Texas legislature would have such a bill introduced and passed … but it did. Two of them in fact. The first one was weak, but the one that followed was a full under 18 ban, and I testified with Jaime’s story for both of these laws.
As Facebook grew and melanoma patients found each other, many groups were formed. There were groups for skin cancer or melanoma in general, groups for survivors, groups for support, groups for mothers of melanoma patients, groups for care-givers, groups for individual melanoma journeys, groups for fundraising, groups for ocular melanoma, groups for pediatric melanoma, groups for research, groups for grief & remembrance, groups for advocacy, groups for sun safety … but I recognized there was a void. There was no group or page devoted entirely to the dangers of tanning beds. So Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds was created.
It has been up and running for about 5 months, and now has almost 1,900 members. January was designated Tanning Bed Dangers Awareness Month since it is the beginning of the peak tanning bed use time for teens wanting that “glow” for Prom and Spring Break. The page has provided photos and information regarding tanning bed risks that have been shared across Facebook and Twitter.
There have also been numerous activities that the members could participate in, and many have done so. These include contacting fitness centers to ask about whether they provide tanning beds at their center and attempting to educate them to the contradiction between promoting a healthy lifestyle and offering cancer in the form of tanning. We have also tried to educate the customers of tanning salons through the salons’ Facebook pages and to identify any false advertising and notify the FTC. Another project is to make Facebook aware that tanning salons with Facebook pages are advertising “self-harm,” which is something that Facebook has a policy against. And our members are kept up to date on the latest legislation in all states.
Our largest project has been writing letters/emails/Facebook messages and posts/tweets to over 200 colleges and universities in the US, asking whether they have tanning beds on campus or in off-campus housing and whether tanning salons are merchants in their college cash card programs. AIM at Melanoma was kind enough to draft up a letter for our use. We have received over 40 replies, with most stating their tan-free campus policy. Some, like Michigan State, are reviewing their criteria for selecting merchants for the student cash card program or for their discount program. Our message is being heard; colleges now know that concerned people are watching them. They cannot continue to promote, or even be perceived to promote, risky behavior in their students by making tanning beds more easily accessible.
Every day new projects that pertain to tanning beds come to our attention, and there is something in our group for everyone who wants to Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds. I hope to see you there!
- See more at: http://www.disruptivewomen.net/2015/05/21/birth-of-the-pull-the-plug-on-tanning-beds/#sthash.J3JLflVi.dpuf

Eight years ago, my daughter Jaime died from melanoma, which the doctors believed was from her use of tanning beds in high school and college. She was diagnosed when she was 20 and fought the evil beast of a disease until her death at 29.
My Jaime’s story gave me the passion and conviction to become “the indoor tanning industry’s worst nightmare.” The day after Jaime’s funeral I began going after the indoor tanning industry and their lies and deception. I drew their wrath by commenting on magazine and newspaper articles on the internet about the dangers of tanning beds (see http://www.vice.com/read/i-was-paid-to-go-undercover-for-the-tanning-industry-122). Social media was in its infancy; Facebook and Twitter had not yet been born.
I also contacted my state legislators about writing a bill to ban teens from using tanning beds but I was ignored, and it would take several years before the Texas legislature would have such a bill introduced and passed … but it did. Two of them in fact. The first one was weak, but the one that followed was a full under 18 ban, and I testified with Jaime’s story for both of these laws.
As Facebook grew and melanoma patients found each other, many groups were formed. There were groups for skin cancer or melanoma in general, groups for survivors, groups for support, groups for mothers of melanoma patients, groups for care-givers, groups for individual melanoma journeys, groups for fundraising, groups for ocular melanoma, groups for pediatric melanoma, groups for research, groups for grief & remembrance, groups for advocacy, groups for sun safety … but I recognized there was a void. There was no group or page devoted entirely to the dangers of tanning beds. So Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds was created.
It has been up and running for about 5 months, and now has almost 1,900 members. January was designated Tanning Bed Dangers Awareness Month since it is the beginning of the peak tanning bed use time for teens wanting that “glow” for Prom and Spring Break. The page has provided photos and information regarding tanning bed risks that have been shared across Facebook and Twitter.
There have also been numerous activities that the members could participate in, and many have done so. These include contacting fitness centers to ask about whether they provide tanning beds at their center and attempting to educate them to the contradiction between promoting a healthy lifestyle and offering cancer in the form of tanning. We have also tried to educate the customers of tanning salons through the salons’ Facebook pages and to identify any false advertising and notify the FTC. Another project is to make Facebook aware that tanning salons with Facebook pages are advertising “self-harm,” which is something that Facebook has a policy against. And our members are kept up to date on the latest legislation in all states.
Our largest project has been writing letters/emails/Facebook messages and posts/tweets to over 200 colleges and universities in the US, asking whether they have tanning beds on campus or in off-campus housing and whether tanning salons are merchants in their college cash card programs. AIM at Melanoma was kind enough to draft up a letter for our use. We have received over 40 replies, with most stating their tan-free campus policy. Some, like Michigan State, are reviewing their criteria for selecting merchants for the student cash card program or for their discount program. Our message is being heard; colleges now know that concerned people are watching them. They cannot continue to promote, or even be perceived to promote, risky behavior in their students by making tanning beds more easily accessible.
Every day new projects that pertain to tanning beds come to our attention, and there is something in our group for everyone who wants to Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds. I hope to see you there!
- See more at: http://www.disruptivewomen.net/2015/05/21/birth-of-the-pull-the-plug-on-tanning-beds/#sthash.J3JLflVi.dpuf

Eight years ago, my daughter Jaime died from melanoma, which the doctors believed was from her use of tanning beds in high school and college. She was diagnosed when she was 20 and fought the evil beast of a disease until her death at 29.
My Jaime’s story gave me the passion and conviction to become “the indoor tanning industry’s worst nightmare.” The day after Jaime’s funeral I began going after the indoor tanning industry and their lies and deception. I drew their wrath by commenting on magazine and newspaper articles on the internet about the dangers of tanning beds (see http://www.vice.com/read/i-was-paid-to-go-undercover-for-the-tanning-industry-122). Social media was in its infancy; Facebook and Twitter had not yet been born.
I also contacted my state legislators about writing a bill to ban teens from using tanning beds but I was ignored, and it would take several years before the Texas legislature would have such a bill introduced and passed … but it did. Two of them in fact. The first one was weak, but the one that followed was a full under 18 ban, and I testified with Jaime’s story for both of these laws.
As Facebook grew and melanoma patients found each other, many groups were formed. There were groups for skin cancer or melanoma in general, groups for survivors, groups for support, groups for mothers of melanoma patients, groups for care-givers, groups for individual melanoma journeys, groups for fundraising, groups for ocular melanoma, groups for pediatric melanoma, groups for research, groups for grief & remembrance, groups for advocacy, groups for sun safety … but I recognized there was a void. There was no group or page devoted entirely to the dangers of tanning beds. So Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds was created.
It has been up and running for about 5 months, and now has almost 1,900 members. January was designated Tanning Bed Dangers Awareness Month since it is the beginning of the peak tanning bed use time for teens wanting that “glow” for Prom and Spring Break. The page has provided photos and information regarding tanning bed risks that have been shared across Facebook and Twitter.
There have also been numerous activities that the members could participate in, and many have done so. These include contacting fitness centers to ask about whether they provide tanning beds at their center and attempting to educate them to the contradiction between promoting a healthy lifestyle and offering cancer in the form of tanning. We have also tried to educate the customers of tanning salons through the salons’ Facebook pages and to identify any false advertising and notify the FTC. Another project is to make Facebook aware that tanning salons with Facebook pages are advertising “self-harm,” which is something that Facebook has a policy against. And our members are kept up to date on the latest legislation in all states.
Our largest project has been writing letters/emails/Facebook messages and posts/tweets to over 200 colleges and universities in the US, asking whether they have tanning beds on campus or in off-campus housing and whether tanning salons are merchants in their college cash card programs. AIM at Melanoma was kind enough to draft up a letter for our use. We have received over 40 replies, with most stating their tan-free campus policy. Some, like Michigan State, are reviewing their criteria for selecting merchants for the student cash card program or for their discount program. Our message is being heard; colleges now know that concerned people are watching them. They cannot continue to promote, or even be perceived to promote, risky behavior in their students by making tanning beds more easily accessible.
Every day new projects that pertain to tanning beds come to our attention, and there is something in our group for everyone who wants to Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds. I hope to see you there!
- See more at: http://www.disruptivewomen.net/2015/05/21/birth-of-the-pull-the-plug-on-tanning-beds/#sthash.J3JLflVi.dpuf

Eight years ago, my daughter Jaime died from melanoma, which the doctors believed was from her use of tanning beds in high school and college. She was diagnosed when she was 20 and fought the evil beast of a disease until her death at 29.
My Jaime’s story gave me the passion and conviction to become “the indoor tanning industry’s worst nightmare.” The day after Jaime’s funeral I began going after the indoor tanning industry and their lies and deception. I drew their wrath by commenting on magazine and newspaper articles on the internet about the dangers of tanning beds (see http://www.vice.com/read/i-was-paid-to-go-undercover-for-the-tanning-industry-122). Social media was in its infancy; Facebook and Twitter had not yet been born.
I also contacted my state legislators about writing a bill to ban teens from using tanning beds but I was ignored, and it would take several years before the Texas legislature would have such a bill introduced and passed … but it did. Two of them in fact. The first one was weak, but the one that followed was a full under 18 ban, and I testified with Jaime’s story for both of these laws.
As Facebook grew and melanoma patients found each other, many groups were formed. There were groups for skin cancer or melanoma in general, groups for survivors, groups for support, groups for mothers of melanoma patients, groups for care-givers, groups for individual melanoma journeys, groups for fundraising, groups for ocular melanoma, groups for pediatric melanoma, groups for research, groups for grief & remembrance, groups for advocacy, groups for sun safety … but I recognized there was a void. There was no group or page devoted entirely to the dangers of tanning beds. So Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds was created.
It has been up and running for about 5 months, and now has almost 1,900 members. January was designated Tanning Bed Dangers Awareness Month since it is the beginning of the peak tanning bed use time for teens wanting that “glow” for Prom and Spring Break. The page has provided photos and information regarding tanning bed risks that have been shared across Facebook and Twitter.
There have also been numerous activities that the members could participate in, and many have done so. These include contacting fitness centers to ask about whether they provide tanning beds at their center and attempting to educate them to the contradiction between promoting a healthy lifestyle and offering cancer in the form of tanning. We have also tried to educate the customers of tanning salons through the salons’ Facebook pages and to identify any false advertising and notify the FTC. Another project is to make Facebook aware that tanning salons with Facebook pages are advertising “self-harm,” which is something that Facebook has a policy against. And our members are kept up to date on the latest legislation in all states.
Our largest project has been writing letters/emails/Facebook messages and posts/tweets to over 200 colleges and universities in the US, asking whether they have tanning beds on campus or in off-campus housing and whether tanning salons are merchants in their college cash card programs. AIM at Melanoma was kind enough to draft up a letter for our use. We have received over 40 replies, with most stating their tan-free campus policy. Some, like Michigan State, are reviewing their criteria for selecting merchants for the student cash card program or for their discount program. Our message is being heard; colleges now know that concerned people are watching them. They cannot continue to promote, or even be perceived to promote, risky behavior in their students by making tanning beds more easily accessible.
Every day new projects that pertain to tanning beds come to our attention, and there is something in our group for everyone who wants to Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds. I hope to see you there!
- See more at: http://www.disruptivewomen.net/2015/05/21/birth-of-the-pull-the-plug-on-tanning-beds/#sthash.J3JLflVi.dpuf