STATES PASS LAWS BANNING TEENS FROM TANNING BEDS

0 Comments | Augusta Chronicle, The, Mar 29, 2007

WASHINGTON - No smoking. No drinking. No talking on cell phones while driving. Now, the latest no-no in state laws aimed at underage teens is indoor tanning.

Spurred by worries about skin cancer, Utah and Virginia this year joined 25 other states - including Georgia and South Carolina - in placing limits on teens seeking a bronze glow from the ultraviolet lights of a tanning bed. North Dakota's Legislature is putting the final touches on a measure to also clamp restrictions on tanning salon patrons younger than 18.

Most of the laws require underage teens to get parental permission to lie under the tanning-bed heat lamps that emit intense UV light. A handful of states completely ban access to artificial UV light in salons for those younger than 13, 14 or 16. Others require teens to bring along a parent or a prescription.

Critics say the tan bans are an example of government overreaching, while advocates compare the use of tanning beds to cigarette smoking and the drinking of alcohol - unhealthy practices states already put off limits to minors.

"We have labeling on cigarettes and alcohol and nothing on tanning beds that says 'known carcinogen,'" said Dr. Arielle N.B. Kauvar, a dermatologist and chairwoman of the American Academy of Dermatology Council on Communications.

But the restrictions have incensed the $5 billion indoor tanning industry and led to charges of government "nannyism."

"I think it is a personal right to tan, just like it is to talk on a cell phone. When are we going to stop over-regulating the lives of our youth?" said North Dakota state Sen. Nick Hacker, a Republican, who voted against imposing tanning restrictions.

The North Dakota bill, which passed the House and was approved with amendments by the Senate, would bar customers younger than 14 from indoor tanning without a physician's prescription and the presence of a parent and would allow those ages 15 to 17 to tan only with signed parental consent.

State Sen. Ralph Kilzer, a Republican and physician, is one of the sponsors of North Dakota's bill.

"The younger you are when you have your tanning, the more likely it is to affect you down the road," he said.

Virginia's new law, which takes effect in July, will require teens younger than 15 to get parental consent before going into the salon.