Ontario aims to end tanning for minors

By Kurtis Friesen

In the latest chapter of banning tanning for minors, Ontario is looking to pass legislation that would force salons to restrict their services and products to those over the age of 18.

In light of the government of Canada’s February proposal for tanning owners to post stricter warning labels, the government of Ontario wants to end commercial tanning to for young teenagers altogether.

According to the news release, the legislation would also require owners to ask for personal identification for anyone who appears to be under the age of 25 and for bed operators to post signs about the ban with the health risks listed.

The release states that its proposal is in response to the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer report. In it, they say the risk of cancer increases by 75 per cent when tanning beds are used before the age of 35.

The Joint Canadian Tanning Association said these numbers are misrepresented.

Using the data collected from the IARC report, the JCTA has crunched the numbers but separated tanning into three categories: commercial tanning, home unit tanning and photo therapy.

According to the JCTA, home unit tanning is what drives the risk percentage up so high, in regards to the correlation between tanning and skin cancer.

Statistically, they say the risk of developing skin cancer through unsupervised tanning is increased by 40 per cent and 96 per cent through medical tanning use versus commercial tanning’s six per cent.

“Would you jump into the car with a person with no license?” said the JCTA’s executive director Steve Gilroy. “In a professional tanning salon, you are strictly monitored by a licensed operator.”

He also mentioned the “increase in risk” claim is taken out of context due to the advancements in technology.

“We diagnose a smaller amount of melanoma today than we did in the 50s, despite being more educated,” said Gilroy. “In the 50s before the tanning business started, six people in every 100,000 were diagnosed. Now it’s down to 1.4 per 100,000.”

He added that indoor workers are at higher risk of getting melanoma than outdoor workers.

Gilroy made it clear that the JCTA will abide by any law implemented by the government, but that their goal is to properly educate the public about the risks.

Ontario isn’t the first province to act upon the IARC report. British Columbia, Nova Scotia and Quebec have all banned tanning for people under the age of 18.