Tanning beds are suddenly on the national blacklist thanks to the infamous Tanning Mom Patricia Krentcil, who provoked national ire when she allegedly brought her 6-year-old daughter to a tanning booth.
Perhaps related, New York is the latest state to enforce a ban on tanning for minors: the state Senate has agreed to ban children 16 years and younger from indoor tanning beds, the Wall Street Journal reports.
New York currently bans indoor tanning for children under 14, but children ages 14-17 can tan with parental permission. The new law would totally ban 14-16 year olds from indoor tanning. And apparently, the number of teens who tan is high enough to warrant concern; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data show that nearly 10 percent of 14 year olds, 12 percent of 15 year olds and 15 percent of 16 year olds have used indoor tanning facilities.
California is the only state that bans indoor tanning for all minors under 18, but at least 31 states have rules in place that ban some minors or insist on parental permission.
Banning children from greatly increasing their risk of developing skin cancer seems like a no-brainer, but not everyone is in favor of the ban, including (duh) the CEO of a prominent tri-state chain of tanning salons.
With news this week that spray tans can contain carcinogenic chemicals, perhaps there's -- eek! -- no safe way to get a summertime glow.
See some awful celebrity tans!
