Posted on 05/21/2004 1:13:03 PM PDT by El Conservador
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A state famous for tanned bodies and year-round sunshine would be the nation's first to ban teenagers from artificial tanning booths if a bill passed Thursday by the state Assembly becomes law.
Lawmakers, citing a rise in skin cancer cases in California and across the nation, voted 42-26 to add artificial tanning to teenage no no's that already include smoking, drinking and buying lottery tickets.
Teens often visit tanning salons before proms, vacations and weddings, say owners of an industry that claims 160,000 employees nationally and $5 billion in annual revenue. California is estimated to have 1,500 tanning salons.
Backers of the bill, including the California Society of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery, blame tanning salons for part of 1 million new cases of skin cancer diagnosed every year in the United States. The group cited 7,400 deaths annually from melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer.
"There is a big difference between going to the beach and a tanning salon," said the bill's author, Assemblyman Joe Nation, a Democrat. "When kids go to the beach they put on sun screen."
The bill passed despite opposition from tanning salons and Republican lawmakers opposed to "meddling" in personal choices.
"If this bill passes it proves there's no part of somebody's life this Legislature won't stick its nose into," said GOP Assemblyman Ray Haynes.
Heidi Blank, manager of San Diego's Hollywood Tans, said she thought the bill could "hurt my business somewhat. But what are you going to do? There's people bigger than me making those decisions."
She said teenagers account for about 5 percent of her store's clients.
The bill, which now goes to the Senate for consideration, requires teenagers to have a doctor or surgeon's prescription before being allowed to tan indoors.
Along with 26 other states, California already requires permission from parents or a legal guardian for teens 15-18 to use artificial tanning salons. Children 14 and under must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
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On the Net:
Read AB2193 at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov
These people are a day late and a dollar short....most of the Californians who do this sort of thing are using the 'spray on tan' salons now anyway....gees..... ;)
I thought it was their bodies to do with as they please?
Let's see; teenagers are not of sufficient maturity to decide to expose their bodies to a tanning booth, but are of sufficient maturity to expose their bodies to abortion. This is in the Constitution, right?
That reminds me, I've got a tanning session at 5.
2+2=5
Sounds logical to me
/liberal
Tanning booth = BAD
Abortion = GOOD
How can anyone twist that so it makes sense?
California has the sunshine
And the girls all get so taaaan . . .
No tanning beds, no long term skin diseases the state has to treat...
No "unwanted" babies, no long term...
Abortions for teens are only performed when the life of the mother is at risk. Am I missing something here?!?!
Until the late 60's kids used to get their "hides tanned" by good old Dad on a regular basis. I had mine "tanned" quite a few times too.
Stop and think, when they stopped "tanning hides" our society went "to the shitter with old Tex Ritter!"
" . . .Heidi Blank, manager of San Diego's Hollywood Tans, said she thought the bill could "hurt my business somewhat. But what are you going to do? There's people bigger than me making those decisions. . ."
Is this a profile of a "SHEEPLE" or what?
Bushfault
Good grief! Please, someone tell me this doesn't have a snowballs chance. We will all be living in bubbles, forking 90% of our paychecks over to to the state if these people have their way.
A Dr.'s prescription???? For a tan???? what the hell does that mean?
Most tanning salons want a contract that can be converted into a revenue stream and prefer not to have to collect cash at the door or have a person available to collect cash at the door. Once you set up a front end cash flow, e.g., $50 per month on your Visa, some/many customers will get tired of the process before the contract runs out. Teens can break a contract and it is simply to expensive to force payment. One owner said that he'll accept a contract from parents but NEVER from a teenager. Of course, one way to get rid of this marginal business without alienating teens who will be tomorrow's customers is to pay the legislature to do it for you.
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