Tanning bed operators have been found to be observing parental consent laws but as far as the law on this issue are concerned, they appear insufficient in limiting teenagers' exposure to harmful ultraviolet rays, according to a new study.

Data collectors posing as 15 year old girls were told by tanning bed operators that they could get tanned as often as they liked if their parents permitted them to do so.

The U. S. Food and Drug Administration recommendation is already contradicting because it allows exposure during the first week to no more than three sessions which is already way too much as per the experts.

"Tanning is a carcinogen for everybody, but especially for teens who are very interested in looking tan and don't often think about the consequences of any of their behaviors," said study principal investigator Joni A. Mayer, a professor of public health at San Diego State University.

Skin cancer rates have particularly risen in the United States among women between the ages of 15-39 which can be attributed to tanning due to exposure to UV radiation.

28 States in the U. S. had laws for tanning in response to the rising skin cancer rates in 2005 and 21 States required parental consent.

The World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer put tanning beds in its highest cancer risk category -- "carcinogenic to humans". The panel also insisted on issuing tougher warnings in tanning bed use.