In the last several weeks, officials in two regions have proclaimed their intentions to enact tanning bans – one that impacts adults in their late 20s.
In the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, the ban is intended for those customers 18 and younger. Health Promotion and Protection Minister Maureen MacDonald has introduced legislation she anticipates becoming law in 2011. Nova Scotia would be the only province with such a ban – the under-19 crowd was targeted to correspond with age laws related to buying alcohol and tobacco.
Although he advocates education and sun safety, the province’s chief public health officer, Dr. Robert Strang, acknowledges that indoor tanning cannot conclusively be linked to the area’s cancer statistics. Of note is his admission that the development time for most cancers is years – which it appears could bring concern about young adult tanning into question.
The new legislation would also include provisions regarding advertising messages and signage concerning possible health effects. The proposed penalties for non-compliance include fines of up to $10,000, as well as mandatory cessation of tanning services – to anyone – for a prescribed amount of time upon conviction. That time is one week for the first violation, and it goes up from there. It’s anticipated that the area’s tobacco inspectors would monitor the new tanning regulations, particularly with the decrease of tobacco businesses.
An even more extreme ban is shaping up in the Australian state of New South Wales. Current legislation prevents skin type 1 and under-18s from tanning. The new proposed regulations expand to include any person with skin type 2, as well as anyone under the age of 30.
The two-step implementation process would cutoff those under age 25 starting April 1, with 25-to 29-year-olds joining in on August 1. There was no mention of legislation to prevent people from sunbathing or using home tanning units unsupervised.
This legislation is headed in the direction of Brazil, which in 2009 became the first country in the world to make tanning beds illegal.
Sources
ModernMedicine: Australian state seeks to tighten tanning bed rules
TheChronicleHerald.ca: Pale future for teen tanning bed addicts : Citing UV risk, province to ban indoor browning for under-19s
The Sydney Morning Herald: Saving their skins: tanning bed ban for under-30s
