Health minister touts banning minors from using tanning beds
Skin cancer deaths have been rising since 1986
BY JAMIE KOMARNICKI, CALGARY HERALD MAY 29, 2014
Becky Lynn, who first used a tanning bed at age 16, was 26 when she found out she had melanoma, considered the deadliest form of skin cancer. She is urging to provincial government to move ahead as quickly as possible with legislation banning anyone under the age of 18 from using tanning beds.
Photograph by: Gavin Young , Calgary Herald
Health Minister Fred Horne says it’s time for the province to ban people under 18 from using tanning beds — a legislative move intended to protect youth from the growing risk of deadly skin cancer.
The provincial government is drafting legislation that Horne expects will come forward during the fall session.
While Horne said the bill hasn’t been finalized, “quite clearly, the ban on the use of tanning facilities by those under 18 is the way to go.
“The evidence is clear that exposure to tanning dramatically increases the risk of skin cancer,” Horne said on Wednesday.
“My view is it needs to be a ban on access to tanning (facilities) for people under the age of 18. I don’t think any measure short of that is going to be effective and provide the level of protection that we need.”
In the past, Horne has stayed mum on which way the government was leaning in drafting the legislation, including whether it preferred options such as parental consent for minors to use tanning equipment over a ban.
Alberta and Saskatchewan are the only two provinces that don’t regulate how youth access indoor tanning equipment.
Horne’s comments come as the Canadian Cancer Society released a report Wednesday that showed the number of people dying from melanoma, considered the deadliest form of skin cancer, has been on the rise since 1986, even as the death rate for other types of cancer, including stomach, prostate and breast, went down.
The rates are a concern considering ultraviolet radiation from overexposure to sun and sources including indoor tanning beds cause the majority of melanoma cases, and can therefore be prevented, said Evie Espheter, public policy analyst with the cancer society.
“We know that trends are increasing and they’re increasing at a really significant rate,” said Espheter.
“I think people are not registering the message. We’ve talked about sun safety, covering up, wearing sunscreen, etc. We’re seeing that message is not resonating as it should.”
The Canadian Cancer Society has been pushing for the Alberta to ban tanning beds for people under 18, saying parental consent legislation sends the wrong message to youth.
“Education is important, but it needs to be coupled with strong legislation that is gold-standard legislation,” Espheter said, adding that the society “applauds” Horne’s comments he’s planning to enact the ban.
Skin cancer is the most common cancer in Canada. Roughly 570 Albertans are expected to be diagnosed this year with the disease. Melanoma is one of the most common forms of cancer for young people between 15 and 29.
According to the Canadian Cancer Society report, people who use tanning beds before they turn 35 increase their risk of melanoma by 59 per cent.
Further, one in three 17-year-old girls in Alberta have used tanning beds.
Becky Lynn was 16 when she went to her first tanning salon on the advice of a friend’s mother as she was getting ready for a spring break holiday.
She used the beds regularly for the next decade — until she was diagnosed with stage 1 melanoma.
A surgery removed a fist-sized piece of her thigh along with the tumour.
Now a 46-year-old mother of three girls, Lynn said it’s disheartening to see the message isn’t getting through about the risks of melanoma.
She said she wants to see the Alberta government move forward with a ban as soon as possible.
“Every prom season, every spring-break season, we have countless number of young people, especially girls and women, like me, who are setting themselves up for risks they don’t even realize,” said Lynn.
“The only way to get there is by changing the regulation.”
Steven Gilroy of the Joint Canadian Tanning Association said the group has no plans to lobby against teenager restrictions.
But he urged the government to also consider enacting a ban on self-serve tanning, saying equipment should only be run by certified and trained operators.
“If you put a ban on under 18 and you have nobody supervising the equipment, you can’t control who tans in it,” said Gilroy.
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