By
Cat Viglienzoni - July 20, 2010
Young people looking to brown up in New York's tanning
salons may have to wait until they are adults if a new bill to raise the minimum
tanning age to 18 passes. The regulation
would affect more than 2,000 salons and gyms statewide.
Last year, the World Health Organization's International
Agency for Research on Cancer classified tanning as a definite human
carcinogen. This puts the indoor ultraviolet ray exposure in the same category
as smoking, an analogy that one health official says isn't exactly the same,
but it is similar.
"We're not claiming that people get addicted to
tanning the same way you do nicotine, but it clearly is a habit you develop as
a teenager," said Peter Slocum, vice president for advocacy at the
American Cancer Society in Albany. "That's when most people start
frequenting the cancer chambers."
Chief medical officer with the American Cancer Society
eastern division Dr. Clare Bradley agrees. She thinks no one should go to
tanning booths but especially not young people.
"In this young group they are at such risk because of
their age and we really don't think that they understand the risk," she said. "So
we don't think that they can agree and really understand what that risk is because
teenagers are risk-takers."
The Cancer Society reports that a 2006 analysis concluded
that those who tanned indoors before the age of 30 increased their chances of
developing skin cancer by 75 percent. Another study showed that indoor tanning
jumped from one percent of teens in 1998 to 27 percent a decade later. Bradley
said tanning parlors are contributing to increased rates of skin cancer.
"The increased rate of melanoma in everyone - and in
particular young women - has skyrocketed over the last 20-30 years," she said. "And
what we know is the more you use tanning parlors, the greater your risk."
Currently, teens ages 14-18 are allowed to tan in salons
with parental permission - and some parents would like to keep it that way.
Maria Radazzo, who tans and allows her daughter to do so, said the decision of
whether her daughter can tan should be up to her.
"I'm the parent, so I should be able to decide what my
child can do and what, you know, they cannot do," she said.
She said she thinks the proposed law makes no sense
because teens will still be able to tan elsewhere.
"If they can't tan in a tanning salon, then they shouldn't
be able to tan in their backyard or at the beach," she said. "So if they're
going to ban it, they should ban you going from going to the beach or sitting
in your backyard."
The Indoor Tanning Association, an industry group, said
the analysis is flawed and if parents can give permission for their son or
daughter to get married or join the army, they should be allowed to give
permission to tan.
Currently, 32 states regulate tanning by minors and about
20 have introduced legislation to outlaw it. The New York legislation cleared
the state's House and Senate committees but did not make it to the floor before
lawmakers adjourned two weeks ago.
(Photo
courtesy: AP Images)
