Indoor tanning involves using a device that emits ultraviolet radiation to produce a cosmetic tan. Typically found in tanning salons, gyms, spas, hotels, and sporting facilities, and less often in private residences, the most common device is a horizontal tanning bed, also known as a sunbed or solarium. Vertical devices are known as tanning booths or stand-up sunbeds.
First introduced in the 1960s, indoor tanning became popular with people in the Western world, particularly in Scandinavia, in the late 1970s. The practice finds a cultural parallel in skin whitening in Asian countries, and both support multibillion-dollar industries. Most indoor tanners are women, 16–25 years old, who want to improve their appearance or mood, acquire a pre-holiday tan, or treat a skin condition.
Across Australia, Canada, Northern Europe and the United States, 18.2% of adults, 45.2% of university students, and 22% of adolescents had tanned indoors in the previous year, according to studies in 2007–2012. As of 2010 the indoor-tanning industry employed 160,000 in the United States, where 10–30 million tanners visit 25,000 indoor facilities annually. In the United Kingdom, 5,350 tanning salons were in operation in 2009. From 1997 several countries and US states banned under-18s from indoor tanning. The commercial use of tanning beds was banned entirely in Brazil in 2009 and Australia in 2015. , thirteen U.S. states and one territory have banned under-18s from using them, and at least 42 states and the District of Columbia have imposed regulations, such as requiring parental consent.
Indoor tanning is a source of UV radiation, which is known to cause skin cancer, including melanoma and skin aging, and is associated with sunburn, photodrug reactions, infections, weakening of the immune system, and damage to the eyes, including cataracts, photokeratitis (snow blindness) and eye cancer. Injuries caused by tanning devices lead to over 3,000 emergency-room cases a year in the United States alone. Physicians may use or recommend tanning devices to treat skin conditions such as psoriasis, but the World Health Organization does not recommend their use for cosmetic purposes. The WHO's International Agency for Research on Cancer includes tanning devices, along with ultraviolet radiation from the sun, in its list of group 1 carcinogens. Researchers at the Yale School of Public Health found evidence of addiction to tanning in a 2017 paper.