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Legislation an effort to protect youth from skin cancer
BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
The Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee on Monday approved legislation that would bar children age 17 and younger from using tanning beds.
The committee voted 6 to 1 in favor of the proposal. Panel members Assemblywomen Amy Handlin (R-Monmouth) and Nancy Munoz abstained on the public health issue.
According to the International Agency for Research on Cancer, people who use indoor tanning devices before the age of 30, increase their risk for skin cancer by 75 percent. As many as one-in-three American 17-year-old girls use indoor tanning, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The bill would bar anyone age 17 and under from using tanning beds in New Jersey, regardless of whether they have obtained parental permission. However, the bill would allow teens 14 years of age and older, with written permission, to use spray tanning, which does not expose them to UV radiation the way a tanning bed does.
Current law allows emancipated minors and minors between 14 and 18 years of age, who have written authorization from a parent or guardian, to use tanning facilities.
The bill would take effect six months after enactment. At least 25 other states have varying restrictions on teen tanning.
“This measure would increase the age that individuals could begin using tanning beds, a step that would be beneficial in terms of delaying an individual’s exposure to potentially cancer-causing ultraviolet radiation,” Assemblyman Kevin Ryan (D-Bergen), a co-sponsor, said.
“I’m sure there are many adults out there who don’t realize how much greater the risk of skin cancer is for young people who use tanning beds,” Assemblyman Gordon Johnson (D-Bergen), a second co-sponsor, said. “This bill would help eliminate the possibility that those unfamiliar with these risks would allow a minor to use a tanning bed.”
“Numerous studies indicate that the earlier an individual begins using tanning beds, the greater their risk of developing skin cancer,” Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula (D-Somerset), the third co-sponsor, added. “This is ultimately a practical, life-saving measure.”
