Table 2. Indoor Tanning Facility Responses to Shopper Questions about Tanning Frequency and Burn Risk.
| Question | No. (%) |
|---|---|
| “I was wondering how many times I can come in and tan over the next week?”a (N = 602) | |
| 7 times/every day/every 24 h/once a day/all week | 492 (83) |
| Almost every day | 2 (0.3) |
| As many times as you like/anytime | 8 (1) |
| As often as possible/the more the better | 5 (0.8) |
| 6 times | 2 (0.3) |
| 5 times | 3 (0.5) |
| 4 times | 9 (1) |
| 3 times | 1 (0.2) |
| Depends on package purchased or how you payb | 43 (7) |
| Depends on your skin | 22 (4) |
| Depends on the bed | 5 (0.8) |
| Don't know | 1 (0.2) |
|
| |
| “Can the tanning bed burn my skin?”c (N = 567) | |
| Yes | 384 (68) |
| No | 44 (8) |
| Tanning associate did not respond “yes” or “no,” but implied it was possible to experience a burn from the tanning bed | |
| Depends on your skin type/whether you burn in the sun/type of bed/if you tan for too long | 14 (2) |
| You'll start with fewer minutes and work up to longer tanning times | 36 (6) |
| Using a lotion/bronzer can prevent burn | 3 (0.5) |
| Guidance is available to prevent burn | 4 (0.7) |
| You can experience heat rash/skin can turn pink or discolor | 2 (0.4) |
| Combination of ≥2 of the responses listed above | 80 (14) |
This question was not asked of 33 of the 635 facilities. In most of these cases (n = 27), the tanning associate asked the shopper's age before the shopper could pose the question, informed the shopper she was too young to tan, and consequently the call ended early. In the remaining cases (n = 6), the question was skipped by the shopper. Valid percentages are reported. Percentages may not total 100 due to rounding.
Tanning associates did not indicate that packages or memberships would restrict the number of times a shopper could tan over the next week. Payment could be for single session, weekly, or monthly.
This question was not asked of 68 of the 635 facilities. In most of these cases (n = 38), the question was skipped by the shopper. In the remaining cases (n = 30), the tanning associate asked the shopper's age before the shopper could pose the question, informed the shopper she was too young to tan, and consequently the call ended early.