Swayed by evidence of the harms of indoor tanning and moving testimony from melanoma survivors, a Senate committee on Thursday endorsed a ban on underage tanning.
Sponsoring Sen. Pat Jones, D-Holladay, initially proposed prohibiting all minors from using commercial tanning beds, but retailored the ban to apply to those age 13 and under. Youths between the ages of 14 and 18 could tan, but only when accompanied by a parent.
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The measure passed the Senate Health and Human Services Comittee 4-1, despite the reservations of regulation-averse Republicans.
"My natural proclivity is to support business. My natural proclivity is to support liberty," said Sen. Stuart Reid, R-Ogden. But the financial and human costs of ignoring what amounts to a public health crisis make it wrong to stand on principle, he said, noting that his wife used to tan and was recently diagnosed with precancerous lesions near her neck.
"About halfway into our marriage I had heard the stories and suggested she stop tanning. She didn’t listen to me," said Reid.
Utah has the nation’s highest rate of melanoma, which is the deadliest form of skin cancer. The state’s high altitude and population of predominantly northern European descent may be partly to blame. But numerous studies link skin cancer to ultraviolet radiation from tanning beds.
Some research has suggested that tanning releases endorphins and can be addictive, said Sancy Leachman, a dermatologist at the University of Utah.
And, like drinking and smoking, tanning costs society, experts argued.
One person in the U.S. dies of melanoma every hour, a disease that costs $3.5 billion to treat annually, said Robert Andtbacka, a surgical oncologist at the Huntsman Cancer Institute.
Former avid tanners told of enduring toxic treatments and permanent disfigurement following their diagnosis of melanoma.
Only one person spoke in opposition to the bill — Brian Moser, owner of Tanning Oasis, which operates salons in Layton and Roy. The requirement that parents chaperone preteen tanners is impractical and a breach of parental rights, he said, arguing instead for tighter enforcement of existing rules.
Under a law also sponsored by Jones, minors must already get parental consent to use tanning beds. But a recent survey found the law wasn’t enforced, she said.
SB41 would require facilities to be licensed, giving the state leeway to punish them for failing to comply with the ban.
It heads now to the full Senate, and later the House.
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