SB 746

The bill authored by state Sen. Ted Lieu would ban those under age 18 from using indoor tanning beds.

By Jacqueline Howard

A bill authored by state Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance) that would prohibit teens under 18 from using indoor tanning beds is now to be reviewed by the state Assembly.

The state Senate on June 1 approved the measure in a 24-9 vote. Lieu's state Senate 28th District includes Redondo Beach.

Today the California Senate voted in favor of a bill designed to protect teens from using tanning beds. A 24-to-9 vote in the 40-member house was in favor of passing SB 746, which would replace the current law that allows teens aged 14-17 to use tanning beds with the permission of a parent or guardian.

Melanoma risk would be curtailed under Sen. Lieu measure
   
SACRAMENTO – With no one from the Indoor Tanning Association speaking in opposition, the California Assembly today approved banning children under 18 from using tanning beds because science has shown the ultraviolet radiation emitted by the machines leads to melanoma.

A bill heard by the California Senate Appropriations committee today would ban the use of indoor tanning beds for all minors. Advocates say it’s a cancer-prevention measure, but industry says it’s a blow to small businesses.

By Pauline Bartolone

Read the full story

(SACRAMENTO, CA)
Monday, May 16, 2011

By Liz Szabo

Samantha Hessel loved a golden tan.

She began going to tanning salons before her freshman prom. She returned to the tanning salon before dances, homecoming and the summer beach season.

"I knew about the risk but I was in denial," Hessel says. "I thought, 'That's not going to affect me.'" Then, when Hessel was 19, she learned that the mole above her elbow was melanoma, a form of skin cancer that kills 8,700 Americans a year.