Finally, a move in the right direction! A new bill approved by the New York Senate will ban children who are below 16 years of age from tanning salons as well as indoor tanning of any kind.
We’ve long known that tanning is bad for you and although kids below 14 could not get tanned before, those between the ages of 14 and 17 could very well do so if their parents allowed it. Thankfully, that little loophole will now been taken care of.
According to the WSJ, the new law is expected to pass unimpeded by Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Of course, there will be some repercussions from the tanning industry. For example, the CEO of Beach Bum Tanning, James Oliver, states that tanning just needs to be done right for it to be safe and that the cosmetics industry should be blamed for the misinformation about the practice. However, reports from both the WHO and the American Cancer Society state otherwise.
In the UK, there are already laws against teens getting indoor tans. This law may not do much to stop tanning with teens – after all, they’ll find a way to do what they want to do – but it’s a start, right?
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