West Virginia Anti-Tanning Salon Legislation

[Editor-in-Chief]

Group wants W.Va. to restrict usage of tanning beds

by Kelly L. Holleran
Daily Mail staff


Some states have passed laws restricting teenagers' use of tanning beds, and lobbyists wish West Virginia would explore similar limits.


Virginia and Utah recently passed such laws.

Teenagers in West Virginia would benefit from similar legislation, said Hersha Arnold Brown, state government relations director for the West Virginia chapter of the American Cancer Society.

"The teenagers, that's the beginning of their health," she said.

"They need to start (protecting themselves from exposure) when they're young. Skin cancer doesn't start immediately."

The disease is the most common of all cancers, accounting for nearly half of all cancers in the United States, according to an American Cancer Society news release.

But it could take years before a bill is even placed for consideration before the Legislature.

For the American Cancer Society to even begin endorsing the law, the issue must be put before a policy committee, which could approve it and bring it to state legislators. Policy committee members would have to convince legislators that the law would benefit their constituents, Brown said.

In Virginia, lawmakers came to the conclusion that passing such a law would "reduce the incidence of and the mortality from skin cancer," according to the new tanning bed legislation.

The new law there states tanning bed operators must enforce rules such as prohibiting any customer under the age of 15 from using a tanning bed unless a legal guardian signs a written statement in person at the tanning salon. Virginia tanning bed operators are also responsible for ensuring that each customer is of legal age to use the tanning bed.

In West Virginia, some salons have their own rules requiring parents to accompany children to tanning appointments.

Any customers at Planet Tan in Charleston must have parental consent to be there if they are under the age of 16. People tanning in Bronze Body in Charleston must be at least 18, unless they have parental consent.

Although Vicki Crawford, owner of Bronze Body, does not see any problem with tanning if adolescents are 15 or older, she does not necessarily think it is a good idea for 13- or 14-year-olds.

"I don't think it is any more harmful than the sun is," she said. "I think there are health risks to everything. You have to be careful to not overexpose yourself to anything."

But with risks at the tanning bed come benefits, Crawford said.
"My customers tell me the tanning helps their psoriasis," she said. "People with sore backs and achy muscles -- I have numerous customers who tell me they feel so much better after tanning. Some of the young girls with acne said the tanning bed helped them more than their medication."

Still, the tanning bed legislation passed in Virginia states, "indoor tanning lamps emit UVA and UVB radiation levels that can be as much as 15 times stronger than the sun. Exposure to UV light is a known risk factor for melanoma."

Even teenagers whose mothers were diagnosed with skin cancer commonly used tanning beds frequently and are at an increased risk of skin cancer themselves, according to information provided by the American Cancer Society.

The legislation might be difficult to pass in West Virginia because of the high number of teenagers who have access to tanning beds right in their own homes, Brown said.

Crawford was once a critic of tanning beds and wouldn't visit the hot spots. Since then she has changed her point of view and owns her own salon.

"I was 40 years old before I ever laid in one. I had the fears that most people have," she said. "My daughter talked me into it, and I loved it."

Contact writer Kelly Holleran at kellyh@dailymail.com or 348-4850.
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