State And Local Regulations

More states and local agencies than you might think are in the process of developing regulations, and once the CRCPD’s model rules are approved, the process may accelerate further. However, not all local authorities are eager to take on the responsibility of regulating the tanning industry. In South Dakota, the state health, cosmetology and radiation control authorities have had some disagreement over whose job it is and other states have expressed a desire to sidestep the development of regulations altogether and pass the job on to county and city authorities.

However, regardless of who finally takes responsibility to write the rules, the number of tanning businesses affected by state or local codes is growing. Authorities in the following states and local governments either have rules in place, are in the process of writing legislation or have at least requested information to that end from one of the trade associations, the FDA or LOOKING FIT Magazine.

Whether local tanning codes are initiated by industry members, the involvement of salon owners in their development is imperative. Rules written and passed by those with no intimate knowledge of the tanning industry can have unwelcome effects. The aborted Wakefield ban is one example and a recent attempt by the Weights and Measures division of the Department of Health and Human Services in Columbus, Ohio, to regulate tanning unit timers is another.

If it hadn’t been derailed by objections from local salon owners and even the Ohio Board of Cosmetology, the measure would have required timers to be accurate to within five seconds over the length of a session. FDA and Ohio requirements allow timers in tanning equipment a variance of + or - 10 percent, or three minutes over a 30-minute session.