Teen Tanning At Salons May Soon Be A No No In Michigan
This is a real bummer just in time for spring break.
Teen tanning at indoor tanning salons? How about no. It's a ban already in effect in more than a dozen states and Michigan could be next.
Why? Lawmakers say they are just looking out for our youth and the early development of skin cancer. And the Centers for Disease Control is right there to back them up.
- More than 5.4 million cases of nonmelanoma skin cancer were treated in over 3.3 million people in the U.S. in 2012, the most recent year new statistics were available.1
- More people are diagnosed with skin cancer each year in the U.S. than all other cancers combined.2
- Source: skincancer.org)
People who first use a tanning bed under the age of 35 increase their risk for melanoma by 75% according to the Skin Cancer Foundation. (WILX)
A Bill introduced in the house during the week of February 18 would ban anyone younger than the age of 18 from using an indoor tanning salon. A certified dermatologist tells WILX he supports the legislation, saying the health risks outweigh the benefits of being tan.
If the bill is passed here in Michigan and we join the 19 states and DC that already have the ban in effect, there would be penalties for those that don't abide by the law.
A violation would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $150 fine.