Since the industrial revolution, “a tan” has been a status symbol of wealth and leisure in many countries. Tanning beds expose the skin to ultraviolet radiation (UVR) sufficient to cause keratinocyte DNA damage and to induce production of melanin—a pigment that absorbs ultraviolet (UV) light. Tanning salons have served as a quick, convenient and inexpensive way to attain this “healthy, wealthy look.” As such, indoor tanning has become a big business in the United States, with over 50,000 indoor tanning facilities generating annual revenues of over $5 billion USD. The association between tanning and skin cancer (both melanoma and non-melanoma) in adulthood has been well established, especially amongst individuals with early childhood and adolescent exposure. Increasingly, tanning is being outlawed for minors, with the California legislature leading the way in January 2012. Similar to smoking cessation counseling and therapy, adult medicine physicians have a unique opportunity to discourage tanning bed use, acting to prevent irreparable DNA damage to the skin prior to the development of skin cancers. In this comment, we provide an update on the epidemiology of tanning bed use and its association with skin cancers, the opioid-like effects of tanning, pending tanning-related legislation and special interests, and close with clinical pearls for addressing this issue with patients.