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Should fake-tanning be restricted, like cigarettes and porn?
By Carly PiferJune 28th, 2011, 3:15 pmComments (19)
If this news had hit when I was in high school, I might have torn out my poorly frosted hair. Apparently, twenty-two states are considering a new avenue of cancer prevention, and this time they're really going to hit where it hurts; the tanning bed. Law-makers are talking about making the fake-and-bake as illegal as cigarettes and porn.
States participating in the talks include California, Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. The tanning industry has been increasingly vilified in recent years as skin-cancer rates have grown. But there hasn't been much progress towards safe tanning methods, other than those Oompa Loompa-ish spray tans. And, the reality is, as long as America continues to air Jersey Shore and import supermodels from Brazil, pasty, freckled Americans of Scandinavian descent will flock to tanning salons.
While I understand the motivation, I have to wonder if teenagers really need another rule added to the growing list of no-nos that they'll inevitably break? Is tanning a gateway of rebellion? First they're tanning, and the next thing you know they're heroin addicts! Opponents of the bill also argue that tan-happy teens aren't the only ones who would lose out from this ban. People in the tanning industry, which already has been suffering since the economy plunged, stand to take a ten-percent dive if the law passes.
Is this a debate similar to that around cigarette-smoking? Are minors too immature to decide if the long-term risks outweigh the present benefit? Or will they all just buy fake IDs or tan recklessly in the backyard?
Commentarium (19 Comments)
I'd never date a woman who goes regularly to a tanning salon. It just SCREAMS, "I don't know how to take care of myself." It's the same with someone that smokes. Not interested at all.
I second that, with regard to men.
You two should date!
I don't know, is @jt a ginger?
Nerve's alliances baffle me. There's really no logical way to allow this while not allowing cigarettes (porn is a whole 'nother issue). It's addictive, expensive and highly carcinogenic. While I wouldn't support illegalizing them on the basis of individual freedoms, I could see a tax being in order.
There already is a tax. On top of regular sales tax there is now a 10% tax on tanning.
"And, the reality is, as long as America continues to air Jersey Shore and import supermodels from Brazil, pasty, freckled Americans of Scandinavian descent will flock to tanning salons." Yeah, I'm one of those pasty, freckled people, and I have never had a desire to tan, nor envious of those who could. Sorry, getting a tan isn't on everyone's priority list.
OK now thats just not right dude, tanned teens are HOT. Comeon dude.
www.total-privacy.se.tc
But it would be pretty amusing to watch teenagers try to talk their way into tanning salons with fake IDs.
" Are minors too immature to decide if the long-term risks outweigh the present benefit?"
Do you even need to fucking ask a question as stupid as this? Yes. Here's why: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/teenage-brain-a-work-in-prog...
Let's Stop the Orange People Epidemic!
Why does everyone assume people who use tanning beds are the freaky orange people? I've been going to a tanning salon for years and OCCASIONALLY see girls like that but the majority are normal colored people who go to relax, keep their skin clear or keep just a little bit of color. Chill out.
Werd. I've been tanning for years. I have psoriasis and it's been the miracle cure that no other meds have been able to equate to. I never had any interest in tanning before I learned it could help my psoriasis symptoms but since I learned that, any move to make this remedy illegal really gets my blood boiling. I'm no goomba from Seaside, NJ, just a person with a hereditary disease that can be treated by getting some rays.
Same here: I've self medicated with tanning booths when I couldn't get access to UVB booths (two separate occasions during insurance snafus). Denying this option to teens who have trouble getting access to UVB booths is just down right cruel. I can't imagine being a teen and suffering from this disease on the face (mine presented in my teens on my elbows and knees and didn't hit my head & face until my late 20's.). This is a knee jerk reaction from politicians of the worst kind.
Oh, come on. I'm sure that if such a ban was created, there would be some sort of medical exemption. That is not why the majority of people go tanning.
Yeah there are people that over do it. There are a number of people you would never know even go tanning. I can't tell you the number of people I know that I end up running into at the tanning salon. Perhaps a parent should step up and I dunno be a parent and stop their children from turning themselves orange with a tanning bed. But having the government intervene is much easier for everyone involved. Fuck those that are responsible or for whom this is a necessity.
People in the 'tanning' industry have know this stuff from day one. They
have a bad business model. Let them die off.
good lord that picture..is terrifying
As a parent, I have to say that requiring parental permission is about as far as it needs to go. I personally wouldn't let my daughter tan as a teen, and I've gone tanning for special occasions. However, I don't think we really need more laws telling parents what they can and can't let their children do. If I want to let my daughter tan, drink a soda, or ride her bicycle after 8pm, then it's up to my husband and I. If you want to tell children what they can and can't do, have some of your own.