The House Committee on Health Care agrees kids shouldn’t get bronzed in tanning beds. How the state will ensure that actually happens is another matter.
The committee worked through a bill Tuesday that would prohibit tanning facilities from allowing minors to use tanning beds.
Democratic Rep. Janet Ancel has introduced the bill three years in a row. She first pitched the bill when her dermatologist told her New Hampshire was considering restrictions on youths using tanning beds.
“I think it just makes sense,” Ancel said. “We know more about the risks now than we knew when I first put this in.”
The idea didn’t get traction in Vermont until this year when House Health Care decided to take it up.
A range of testimony before the Town Meeting Day break highlighted the safety concerns involved with tanning bed use.
According to the American Cancer Society, individuals who used indoor tanning devices before the age of 30 increase their risk for melanoma by 75 percent. The incidence of melanoma in Vermont increased from 1999 to 2008 to above the national average.
Currently, the state has no restrictions on indoor tanning.
John Shullenberger, a lobbyist for the American Cancer Society, said restrictions on indoor tanning have become a national priority for the organization given the increased prevalence of skin cancer in young people. He says it won’t affect adults who choose to use indoor tanning facilities.
“What the bill says is not that they cannot avail themselves of tanning, they just can’t provide the service to someone under 18,” Shullenberger said.
Prohibiting minors from using indoor tanning beds appeared to have widespread support from the House committee, but just how to enforce the law turned cumbersome.
Dr. Harry Chen, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Health, said his department would have serious problems ensuring minors did not use tanning beds.
“On the simplest level, I don’t even know where these tanning booths are,” Chen said.
Tanning beds can be found in gyms, health spas, salons and businesses that exclusively provide the service.
An oversight program could be expensive. For example, Chen said a food and lodging program run by the department costs about $1 million a year. Other regulatory programs cost around $100,000 a year.
Chen said the science is pretty clear that tanning is not good for people.
“If you are going to prohibit tanning, we want to make sure we do it in a way that’s effective and actually achieves the goals set forth in the law,” Chen said.
The committee tried to tackle the thorny issues of how to keep track of the state tanning beds and penalize owners who let minors use them Tuesday. One option was to have the Office of Professional Regulation oversee the operations similar to tattoo parlors, where people could potentially lose their license for tattooing a minor.
Rep. George Till, a member of the committee, said the lack of regulation of tanning beds is slightly bizarre.
“A barber has to get a license and no one got cancer from getting a haircut that I know of,” Till said.
The committee also considered a proposal that would require owners of tanning facilities to post a notice of the dangers of tanning, the law prohibiting minors from using beds and list the penalties for people who break the law.
Who would field reports of illicit tanning was still up in the air Tuesday afternoon along with whether minors could get in trouble for bronzing with a fake ID.
Despite the issues with enforcing the ban on minors tanning, Till said, the pressing health issues make it worth passing the bill, then waiting for more guidance on regulating the practice.
“This causes cancer,” Till said. “It causes the kind of cancer that is especially dangerous. There is a strong opinion among the committee that we should pass this bill, and we should pass this bill this year.”
Where the state will adjudicate these fines is also up in the air — whether it be in court or some other venue.
People who allow minors to tan in their facilities could be subject to a $100 fine for the first offense and $500 for subsequent offenses.
The bill would not have any effect on a teenager’s ability to use a sunless or spray-on tan.
The committee plans to vote on the final version of the bill Wednesday morning.
