Three times each week, senior Kristy Caithamer visits Tan Express where she spends 10 minutes in a Level II tanning bed. However, as Illinois legislature begins to debate placing a ban on indoor tanning for those under the age of 18, Caithamer discovers that maintaining her yearlong bronze glow that has been a priority for her since she was in eighth grade may no longer be possible for younger teens.
On Feb. 15, 2011, Bill HB1666 was introduced to the House of Representatives in Springfield, Ill. The bill, currently being debated and most recently sent to the Rules Committee on March 30 advocates banning the use of tanning beds for minors, regardless of parental consent. Illinois only requires tanning salons to obtain parental permission from those between the ages of 14 and 17 and bans tanning for those under age 14 at this time.
Health teacher Debbie Bruns feels the ban is appropriate because “the skin remembers everything we do to it, so the younger that some of these harmful behaviors occur, the longer it has for…things such as skin cancer to develop.”
Bruns believes these harmful effects of tanning should be avoided at all costs.
“Even though we are exposed to UVA rays naturally through sunlight, the difference is…the tanning beds are 10-15 times stronger ... causing premature aging of the skin, wrinkling…[and] increases the melanoma risk,” Bruns said.
According to the American Cancer Society website, melanoma “is far more dangerous than other skin cancers and causes most skin cancer deaths…account[ing] for almost 9,000 of the nearly 12,000 skin cancer deaths each year.”
Junior John Irish, who enjoys tanning outdoors but has avoided indoor tanning, feels he has been properly educated.
“I feel we are educated about these dangers…from our health classes in high school,” Irish said. “We do learn about the effects [of] being in the sun.”
Because he has taken the initiative to learn the consequences of tanning, Irish believes a ban on tanning for minors is unnecessary.
“The lawmakers of Illinois should not be the ones to tell us [what] we can or can’t do to our bodies. Rather it should be up to our parents and us as teens to decide to do this or not,” Irish said.
Caithamer, like Irish, feels it should be her personal decision because she can be responsible for educating herself.
“I feel like I am very educated on tanning because I work at X-sport Fitness and I sell a lot of tanning packages and lotions,” Caithamer said. “I’m also aware of the dangers.”
Caithamer has chosen to indulge in the artificial lighting for the past five years and feels other teens should have the same option.
“I don’t think there should be [a ban] because ultimately that is the choice of teens and their parents,” Caithamer said.
Junior Gabby Pecenka agrees the state should not interfere.
“It should most definitely not be the state’s concern whether or not people want to take a risk and tan,” Pecenka said. “I believe if a person is under 18 it should be the parents’ decision.”
Pecenka feels the current enforcement is already substantial.
“I don’t think state interference is necessary,” Pecenka said. “The law right now for parental consent is doing a good job at regulating the number of minors [who partake in] indoor tanning.”
Others, though, do not feel the glow Caithamer and Pecenka crave is worth the risk.
Senior Kylie Walsh, after having a negative experience in a tanning bed, believes teens may benefit from state regulation.
“I feel indoor [tanning] is so much more dangerous because you think ‘oh, I’m only in here for 15 minutes, I won’t get burned,’ but while standing there you don’t realize how strong those lights actually are,” Walsh said.
Because Walsh is concerned with the health risks associated with tanning beds she “think[s] a ban would be saving teens from giving themselves skin cancer.”
Aside from placing a full ban on tanning, students suggest making less drastic parameters to keep teens safe.
“Besides a full ban, they could make it that teens can only do it once a month, on the lowest setting, for the shortest amount of time,” Walsh said.
Irish, who also thinks minor regulation would benefit teens, feels Illinois could take action without being extreme.
“I feel the state should have a minimal role in what we do for tanning, such as imposing a small tax on indoor tanning,” Irish said.