New York is currently considering a law that would ban
minors from using tanning beds. While civilians and lawmakers alike have been
debating tanning for years now, the issue has come to the surface recently
thanks to Patricia Krentcil, the NJ mom who reportedly took her 6-year-old
daughter to a tanning booth. Though she denies actually letting her child tan,
consumer advocates are pointing to this particular situation as being
representative of a tanning-obsessed nation.
The American Cancer Society announced in the last few days
that melanoma rates have jumped 72 percent in the last decade—a statistic for
which they blame the increase in tanning bed use.
Currently, NY prohibits children ages 14 and under from
using tanning beds and requires minors between the ages of 14 and 18 to have
written parental consent, though officials worry this mandate it not being
enforced. While some lawmakers think it’s up to parents to control their kids,
others believe a blanket ban on tanning for the under-18 crowd is simply good
public health policy. A similar law has been proposed in New Jersey and others
are in place in California and Vermont.
What do you think of this possible tanning bed
ban? Do you use tanning beds to get your summer glow on?
BY BRITTANY TAYLOR ON 5/19/2012 12:00:00 AM
POSTED IN body image, Love your bod, cancer 101, health, bad habit, In the News