INTERVIEW: Planet Fitness will stop offering ‘unlimited’ indoor tanning over safety concerns in deal with NY attorney general

ALBANY — Planet Fitness got burned by unlimited tanning.

In a settlement reached with state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, the fitness giant has agreed not to offer “unlimited” indoor tanning sessions as part of its premium membership packages, the Daily News has learned.

 

Such promotions, Schneiderman’s office said, can imply that frequent indoor tanning sessions are safe.

"This agreement is part of a continuing effort to protect consumers from the documented skin cancer risks of indoor tanning,” Schneiderman said.

“I am especially concerned with rising cancer rates associated with indoor tanning, particularly for young people, and businesses that offer indoor tanning should market their services truthfully,” he said.

 

The agreement, which is set to be announced Tuesday, does not specify how many tanning sessions the company, which has nearly 100 locations in the state, can offer its premium members.

Planet Fitness also agreed not to make claims about the potential health benefits of red lamp devices and improve the training of employees who oversee indoor tanning devices. The company must also pay $50,000 in fees and penalties.

“While Planet Fitness, Inc. neither admits nor denies the findings of the (attorney general), and does not advertise or promote any health-related benefits of indoor tanning, we are pleased to have reached an amicable resolution in this matter,” the company said in a statement. “We will continue to strive to ensure that our clubs operate in the best interests of our members, which are, and have always been, our number one priority."

Schneiderman’s office said the settlement stems from an investigation of Planet Fitness locations in which investigators found “numerous violations” of state laws, including the failure to provide required warnings about the possible health dangers of indoor tanning.

Investigators also found that some Planet Fitness locations offered LED or “red light Beauty Angel” treatments under the guise they offered a health benefit.