A call for BC to ban self-served tanning
Posted April 26, 2013 9:57 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
CHILLIWACK (NEWS1130) – A tanning salon in Chilliwack is taking some heat for giving people the chance to get some colour whenever they want. But it looks like the salon is not getting the backing it thought it would.
The Joint Canadian Tanning Association is calling on the province to ban any self-serving tanning places.
Barb Kaminsky with the Canadian Cancer Society wants to know how it could be monitored. “We know that the risk for malignant melanoma increases substantially 50 to 60 per cent if you use these tanning salons underage.”
Self-served tanning salons give clients a special key to get in anytime, including on holidays. The owners tell the Province newspaper their customers undergo skin analysis beforehand.
“Tanning needs to be controlled by someone that is knowledgeable in the administration of UV light; anything less risks sunburning and overexposing consumers,” says Steven Gilroy, executive director of the JCTA.
“Unfortunately, the public focus on teen tanning has resulted in governments losing sight of the real threat: self-serve tanning and the absence of skin typing which takes place in JCTA member salons,” he suggests.
Right now, anyone under 18 in BC cannot use a tanning bed unless they have a doctor’s note.
