Tanning Bed Ban for Minors Approved

Hermosa Beach teens under 18 will no longer be able to use tanning beds to get a sunkissed glow now that Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation banning minors from using the ultraviolet beds.

Senate Bill 746, sponsored by state Sen. Ted Lieu, who represents Hermosa Beach and other South Bay cities, prevents anyone under the age of 18 from using a tanning bed.

Previously, teens aged 14-17 could use the beds with a parent's permission.

• Related:

"Recent scientific research has shown that tanning beds cause skin cancer," Lieu said in a previous news release. "The younger kids are when they start using tanning beds, the greater the damage to their skin and the more likely they are to die of skin cancer."

Lieu's bill was backed by multiple medical groups, including the American Cancer Society, the California Medical Association, California Society of Dermatology and the Aim at Melanoma Foundation.

Nevertheless, the Indoor Tanning Association opposed the measure, saying the ban would "take away a very basic right of parents—the right to decide whether or not a teen can suntan indoors," according to a petition on the association's website.

When they go into effect Jan. 1, California's regulations against teen tanning will be the toughest in the country, Lieu has said previously. Several European countries, including France and England, have banned minors' use of tanning beds, and Brazil has banned tanning beds entirely.

Do you favor this ban on minors tanning indoors?