Blog #7 (Health/Disease)

“California bans use of sunbeds for under 18-year-olds”

-Amber Kocher

California has just become the first state in the United States to ban the use of tanning beds for anybody under the age of 18.  Up until this point, the law stated that anyone under the age of 14 couldn’t use them, but teenagers between 15 and 17 could use them with permission from a guardian or parent.  Governor Jerry Brown signed the bill and it will go into effect on January 1^st.    The World Health Organization’s research agency released information that tanning beds are “carcinogenic to humans”, which means it causes cancer, and they moved tanning beds into its highest risk cancer category.  The research that caused the World Health Organizations decision showed that the risk of the most deadly type of skin cancer, which is melanoma, was “increased by 75% in people who regularly used tanning beds before age 30”.    This ban is the first in the United States with such a high age, but Texas has a similar ban in which people under the age of 16 cannot tan in sunbeds, as does Brazil, in which tanning beds have been banned completely.  England and Wales passed a ban back in April 2011, which bans the use of sunbeds under the age of 18.  The US Indoor Tanning Association released a statement that this ban would be hurting their business, because teenagers under the age of 18 made up between 5% and 10% of their customers. 

            This law is something that is controversial, and is probably angering quite a lot of people.  But with the facts presented on the dangers of indoor tanning, and the regularity that people are using them, its something very important to be discussed and changed.  Standards of beauty are different all over the world, and they’re something that has been consistently changing over time.  While the saying “pain is beauty” is something thrown around without thinking, its truthfulness is kind of disturbing.  The lengths people go to be considered beautiful within their standards or culture is shocking sometimes, and when people resort to doing something harmful, specifically when they’re children and don’t really know or care about the consequences, that is when this becomes an issue.  When something is socially acceptable and expected, and its damaging long term, such as tanning is, change needs to happen.  California is pushing for that change and has taken steps forward.  Hopefully other states in the US and other countries will follow suit. 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-15237003