Legislation Would Require Parental Consent for Teen Tanners

By Caleb Taylor | PA Independent 

A bill that would require teenagers to get their parent’s permission before using a tanning facilities has some arguing that the ban is unnecessary.

“We support parental involvement, but the state does not have to do this because it is already a common practice that most (tanning) businesses do already,” said John Overstreet, executive director of the Indoor Tanning Association, a national trade group of tanning salons as well as manufacturers and distributors of tanning beds. 

Not only does Senate Bill 349, introduced by state Sen. Pat Browne, R-Lehigh, limit access, but it adds a “layer of taxes, fees and regulations,” Overstreet said. 

The legislation also hits tanning salon owners with an annual $300 per-salon licensing fee. If the salon has more than 10 tanning beds, an additional fee of $10 per device would be charged. 

Owners also must display a sign stating “DANGER — ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION.” 

“We’re just trying to strengthen our protections in the Commonwealth against the largest growing (type) of cancer...skin cancer,” said Browne. “I think we can trust families to make the appropriate decision. Just outright banning it...I don’t think there is a necessity for that.” 

The bill unanimously passed the Senate Appropriations Committee last week and moves to the state Senate for a vote. 

The committee estimates that the bill would cost taxpayers $600,000 in the first year for administration and annual inspections. 

The state Department of Health, which regulates the tanning industry under Browne’s legislation, could increase the fee amount if revenue is insufficient to offset the bill’s costs. 

Sharon Crosswaite, a mother of two teenagers and a resident of Cumberland County, said she agrees with the bill’s intent. 

“It is not good to be doing it at all but (if my kids are tanning) I definitely want to have a say,” said Crosswaite. 

In 2010, people who used an indoor tanning device were 75 percent more likely to develop melanoma than those who had never used one, according to the most recent study by the American Cancer Society, a national health organization that researches ways to minimize and eliminate the effects of cancer.

State Rep. RoseMarie Swanger, R-Lebanon, introduced House Bill 1919 last month, which would ban anyone 18 or younger from using an indoor tanning facility.

Swanger’s bill is currently in the House Health Committee. 

Neither bill applies to personal tanning devices that some tanners use in their own houses.