This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Utah law that made it harder for teenagers to tan in salons seems to have cut indoor tanning significantly.
A survey of Utah students in grades 8, 10 and 12 found the use of tanning salons dropped 36 percent after the 2012 law took effect, according to a new study by the Utah Department of Health.
The law requires minors to have a physician's note or be accompanied by a parent or guardian who signs a waiver each time they visit an indoor tanning salon.
The state study was published in a recent edition of the Journal of Skin Cancer.
Two years ago, state lawmakers passed Senate Bill 41 in an attempt to discourage teen tanning.
Utah's incidence of melanoma was 61 percent higher than the national rate from 2006 to 2010, with 31 out of 100,000 residents suffering from the cancer, compared to 19.3 per 100,000 nationally. Utahns also die more often from skin cancer.
Exposure to ultraviolet radiation is known to cause melanoma, one of the most common types of cancer among older teens and young adults. And indoor tanning beds, like the sun, expose users to such radiation. Frequent use of tanning beds has been shown to significantly increase the risk of developing melanoma, the news release said.
According to the study, eight states, including California, will have banned tanning facilities for those under 18 by the end of this year.
According to the survey, 12 percent of students in grades 8, 10 and 12 reported using indoor tanning devices in 2011, but 7.7 percent said they used them in 2013.
Use was much higher in girls than in boys. Some 17.6 percent of girls used indoor tanning devices in 2011, and 11.7 percent used them in 2013. Of boys, 6.4 percent said they used them in 2011 and 3.8 percent used them in 2013.
Those most likely to continue indoor tanning were older teens and those using tobacco and alcohol, the study found. Teenagers whose parents had college educations were less likely to use the salons.
The surveys were part of the Utah Department of Human Services' 2011 and 2013 Prevention Needs Assessment surveys, which involved more than 15,000 teenagers each time.
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