TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Miss Florida Teen USA Kayla Collier was 15 when she first visited a tanning salon. Later that year, her mother noticed what looked like a scab on her back. It turned out to be skin cancer.
And though she can’t definitively link the tanning to the cancer, Collier, now 18 and healthy, won’t be back under the bulbs. On Wednesday she asked Sunshine State lawmakers to ban people under 16 from using tanning beds.
Florida is among 17 states considering laws this year that would restrict indoor tanning by minors. Proposals would ban teens from tanning salons or require them to get notes from parents or doctors. Two years ago, a similar measure was proposed in Colorado but did not pass.
Opponents say the tanning beds are safe for teens and their use should be up to parents, not states.
