October 20, 2009
The link between ultraviolet radiation and skin cancer is so well documented, particularly the risk posed to young people, that banning teenagers from tanning salons ought to be a no-brainer. Yet only now is one Maryland jurisdiction finally moving in that direction.
Once again, Howard County is shining a light on an important public health subject. Tanning salon beds produce UV radiation just as surely as the sun. While over-exposure to the sun may be inadvertent, there's nothing accidental about lying under tanning lamps.
Under regulations developed by Health Officer Peter Beilenson and set to be considered by the Howard County Board of Health next month, tanning salon beds would be off-limits to anyone under the age of 18, with the possible (and unlikely) exception of those with a doctor's prescription. Currently, state law allows minors to use a commercial tanning bed with only a parent's consent.
Allowing teens to submit to UV radiation on a parent's say-so is tantamount to letting them buy and smoke a carton of cigarettes if mom or dad says that's fine, too. The harmful effects of a known carcinogen are too great to permit such a loophole.
According to the American Academy of Dermatology, more than 1 million cases of skin cancer will be diagnosed in the United States this year. Indoor tanning by people under the age of 35 has been linked with a 75 percent increase in the risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. The World Health Organization recommends that no one under the age of 18 should use a sun lamp or tanning bed under any circumstances.
The attraction of indoor tanning to high school girls, particularly in late fall homecoming and early spring prom seasons, is clear enough. Despite the growing evidence of a cancer risk, teens still prize the look of a week or two on the beach - and are only too willing to risk excess UV exposure in order to get it.
Salon owners say teens are only a small part of their business - less than 10 percent. If so, that's good news. They shouldn't miss them.
The industry may be unhappy to see Howard County's proposed restrictions, particularly if, as the dermatologists hope, they prove to be a national model. Voluntary guidelines don't work - salons rarely refuse service to minors, according to one national survey.
By themselves, the new rules won't eliminate skin cancer any more than restricting tobacco sales ended lung cancer. But they could significantly reduce one key source of UV radiation exposure to vulnerable children. Youngsters who insist on the tanned look can pursue the UV-free spray-on variety, or, better yet, promote good health by looking like themselves.
Readers respond
So they can operate a 2,000 pound vehicle, but they can't go to a tanning bed??!!! What next - the hat enforcement police on sunny days? Sun-screen sniffing dogs?? Robyn
Many young teens begin the dangerous practice of indoor tanning in preparation for dances and proms and embark on a serious and harmful tanning habit. At the age of 16, I was one of those girls, and now 10 years later am a survivor of melanoma skin cancer, which I am certain was brought on by my weekly trip to the tanning salon. Indoor tanning salons like to spread messages of the safety of artificial tanning devices. I remember one campaign in particular that stated indoor tanning was actually good for you due to an increase in vitamin D caused by exposure to sunlight. My parents were always very skeptical of my tanning behavior and encouraged me to stop. Had I needed a permission slip, or had it been illegal for me to tan, I'd like to think that today I wouldn't have a seven-inch scar across my back from my melanoma surgery. I applaud Howard County for considering this regulation and hope that it helps spread awareness of the very real dangers of indoor tanning. Kathleen Shaffer
