Tanning salons outnumber McDonald’s in Florida

There are more tanning facilities than McDonald’s restaurants in the state of Florida, according to recent research.

Investigators with the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, noting that the Sunshine State has the second-highest incidence of melanoma in the United States, analyzed the number of tanning salons and types of services offered at the facilities.

For every 50 square miles in Florida, there are 1.16 tanning facilities, and there is one tanning salon for every 15,113 people. There are 1,261 tanning salons in the state, compared to 868 McDonald’s restaurants and 693 CVS pharmacies, researchers found. Bank of America ATMs were the only businesses that were more common, with 1,455, than tanning facilities.

A number of the tanning salons were located in residential buildings or fitness centers, investigators noted, including a residential facility with services aimed at university students.

“Further investigation of the impact of indoor tanning facility type, geographic location, and use on skin cancer incidence may promote regulation of these carcinogenic devices and guide health interventions,” Robert S. Kirsner, M.D., Ph.D., professor, dermatology and cutaneous surgery, Miller School of Medicine, said in the news release.

The findings were published online Dec. 25 in JAMA Dermatology.