(Radio Iowa) – Iowa is one step closer to requiring parental permission before a minor could book tanning bed sessions. The Iowa House voted to require written parental consent for their child to use a commercial tanning bed last year. Yesterday (Monday) the Senate approved the bill — but removed a section requiring the permission forms to include a cancer warning — so the House has to O-K that change before the bill goes to the governor. Senator Art Staed of Cedar Rapids has been trying to get this policy passed for a decade.
“Other states have acted. Iowa hasn’t and that’s just not acceptable,” Staed said. “We can’t regulate the sun, but we can regulate harmful artificial exposure.” A month ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration dropped a proposal that would have banned teens from using tanning beds. Staed says that makes it important for the state to act.
“Indoor tanning exposes young people to intense ultraviolet radiation that damages their DNA and increases the risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer,” Staed said. A Northwestern University study identified D-N-A changes in skin cancer patients who had used tanning beds. According to the National Institutes of Health using a tanning bed just one time before the age of 35 raises your risk of developing melanoma by 75 percent.
