America's top doctor has summer tips for you: Don't sunbathe, wear a hat and slap on sunscreen. And avoid tanning salons in any season. For the first time, these well-known warnings come from the surgeon general, the federal government's public health spokesman.

Dr. Boris Lushniak, a dermatologist (skin doctor) who's acting surgeon general, says skin cancer is a "major public health problem that requires immediate action." Over-exposure to indoor and outdoor ultraviolet light is the main reason for a 200-percent spike in skin cancer-related deaths since 1973, the medical official adds. Dr. Michael Alexander, a cancer specialist in Santa Cruz, Calif., welcomes the new warnings. "It's a good thing to keep hammering it in because obviously a lot of people aren't listening, especially young people," he says.

About 63,000 new U.S. cases of melanoma (the most serious skin cancer) are diagnosed each year, many of them involving teens and young adults. An estimated 9,000 Americans die from the disease. Another federal agency, the Food and Drug Administration, soon will require labels on tanning beds and lamps warning against use by anyone under 18.

Surgeon general says: "Much like the surgeon general comes out very vehemently against youth smoking, I am coming out quite vehemently against youth exposing their skin to ultraviolet radiation in tanning booths." – Dr. Boris Lushniak .

Tan salons group says: "Proponents of sun avoidance always exaggerate the risks of exposure to ultraviolet light in order to get the attention of the public, the media and the government." – Indoor Tanning Association

Researchers say: "Exposure to tanning beds before age 30 increases a person's risk of developing melanoma by 75 percent. Younger people who regularly use tanning beds are eight times more likely to develop melanoma than people who have never used them." – Melanoma Research Foundation, a cancer group in Washington, D.C