SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) -Tanning beds are in the cross- hairs in the upcoming legislation session. Utah Senator, Patricia Jones, (D) - Holladay, is drafting a bill that would ban minors from using them.
The idea isn’t creating a warm glow for people who enjoy tanning. Che Geyer says she thinks the law passed five year ago goes far enough. "I don't see a problem with it." Geyer likes tanning and says she would allow her own children to do it, just like her mother did. "My mom always signed off on mine, so I was able to tan, I mean it was good for me, but if you are under the age of eighteen you are still under your parent’s supervision and I think the old law is sufficient."
That Utah law was also passed through the efforts of Senator Jones. It requires parental consent for minors to tan. Jones now says it is hard to enforce, and doesn't offer enough protection for Utah children. She proposes an outright ban for anyone under eighteen." The research that we have from leading science organizations shows that there is a ten to fifteen percent higher risk of danger from tanning beds than there is from the midday sun."
Jones says the state's rate of the deadly skin cancer, melanoma, is the highest in the nation, and the numbers are growing among younger Utahns, "You have a 75 percent increase in the risk of melanoma if you if you tan by age 30."
Utah wouldn't be the first state to pass a ban on minors using commercial tanning beds. California's law went into effect this month. Several other states are also considering a ban. Jones says it makes sense. "We protect them from alcohol, and tobacco, and those kinds of harmful things, and this is proven to be a carcinogen, and it's very, very dangerous
But people like Serrah Woodworth, who tan on a regular basis, say this piece of legislation goes too far. “I think they are just trying to take more rights away. It just seems like every year there’s more that people under the age of 18 or 21 can’t do.”
Those who provide the commercial tanning beds say they are complying with current law and it is enough. Allie Nitzen from Golden Tan says they provide a service for people who want it, and in some cases need it. "We have comments on the account saying the parents signed it. It’s very easy to have a parent come in and sign the form."
Under the new law anyone who wants to tan must present a valid form of ID.
