Even more worrisome, some influencers are encouraging the use of tanning beds. How tanning beds increase cancer riskDr. Pedram Gerami and his team at Northwestern University’s medical school sought to find out what was happening at a cellular level with tanning bed users. The FDA halted tanning bed regulationThe World Health Organization has long classified tanning beds as a cancer-causing agent in the same category as tobacco and asbestos. Using tanning beds before age 20 can increase your chances of developing melanoma by 47%, according to the American Academy of Dermatology. But the U.S. Food and Drug Administration withdrew a proposed rule in March that would have barred anyone under 18 years old from using tanning beds in the U.S.