In a state that boasts 300 days of sunshine a year, there is no reason young people should be exposing their skin to indoor tanning.
Journal of the American Medical Association says the number of skin cancer cases due to indoor tanning is higher than the number of lung cancer cases due to smoking worldwide.
Yet we don’t allow people younger than 18 to buy cigarettes. In fact, we support House Bill 1054, which would increase that to age 21. So we also support a bill that would ban minors 18 and younger from using tanning beds.
There is simply no need for youngsters to seek an artificially induced tan and subject themselves to the possibility of devastating effects years later.
In the U.S. alone, 419,254 cases of skin cancer each year are attributed to indoor tanning. Of this number, 6,199 are melanoma cases. The risk is highest in those exposed at young ages; 19 percent of adolescents have tanned indoors, according to the study.
We understand reputable tanning salons require parental consent, but we still think this bill is an important step in saving lives.
Society doesn’t approve of parents letting kids smoke, and it shouldn’t give the OK to using tanning beds.
