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State lawmakers are considering bills that would put tanning salons under state regulation. One possible regulation is that children under eighteen would be required to have their parents with them when they tan.
When Sue Weiser of Grantville knows her sixteen-year-old daughter wants to go to "Electric Tan", she always goes with her. If a Senate Bill becomes law, she would have to go. "But I know if she only needs to be in for so long that's the amount of minutes she'll go in," said Weiser. "And they monitor that pretty well. They make sure, you know, if they got pink the last time. They don't want them in too long." Weiser says while she always goes with her daughter, she thinks making it a state law is really not needed.
"What we do is promote healthy tanning for teens and adults," said Peggy Kline, owner of Electric Tan in Linglestown. Kline says reputable shops are members of one of the professional tanning associations. She says they already require clients under eighteen to bring a permission slip from parents and she checks I.D.'s.
"It's kind of like a self regulation," said Kline. "It helps us to regulate the business and helps us to regulate the safety of our customers and our clients."
Not only would the proposed law require parents to accompany kids under age eighteen to tan, salon staff would have to follow regulations about tanning bed preparation and safety.
Members of the Pennsylvania Academy of Dermatology support the push for state regulation. Harrisburg Dermatologist Dr. David Amato said, "Over half the states in the country already have legislation in place that a minor cannot go and tan without parental consent and certainly under the age of fourteen is not a good idea."
You can read the full text of the two bills being considered that regulate tanning salons. Visit www.pasen.gov. Then search for Bills S406 and S407.
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