LANSING, Mich. — Right now it’s legal for minors to tan at tanning businesses with parental permission, but it’s banned in more than a dozen states across the United States. A new bill making its way through the state legislature would add Michigan to the list.
Lawmakers who back the bill say it could help protect teens from the potential of developing skin cancer later in life.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, skin cancer is the most common form of cancer in the United States.
People who first use a tanning ban under the age of 35 increase their risk for melanoma by 75% according to the Skin Cancer Foundation.
That’s why some law makers are hoping to curb that risk for Michigan teens.
A Bill introduced in the house during the week of February 18 would ban anyone younger than the age of 18 from using an indoor tanning salon. A certified dermatologist tells WILX he supports the legislation, saying the health risks outweigh the benefits of being tan.
"Ten thousand people will die this year from melanoma in this country,” said Dr. Bishr Al Dbagh a Dermatologist in Flint. “That's the one that will spread to different organ systems. That's the one that young people will get, that will kill them. It's lethal."
19 states and Washington, DC have a full-blown ban on minors using tanning salons and this bill would add Michigan to that list.
If the Bill becomes law, a violation would be a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $150 fine.
Similar bills aimed at creating stricter rules for minors in tanning salons have been introduced in the past but they did not clear the state legislature.
WILX will be tracking this bill and will update our readers if it comes up for a vote.
