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State Representative Phyllis Kahn

365 State Office BuildingState Office Building
100 Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
651-296-4257

For more information contact: Michael Howard 651-296-8873

Posted: 2010-06-10 00:00:00
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Column/LTE

Riskiness of tanning bad exposure

Letters to the Editor
The Minnesota Daily
2221 University Ave SE, Suite 450
Minneapolis, MN 55414

Dear Editor:

I was very interested the article by Kyle Potter on June 2, regarding the U of M study on the riskiness of tanning bed exposure, particularly to the young. I had just returned from a legislative conference where a talk was presented by a representative of The American Academy of Dermatology drawing the same conclusions.

Several states have stronger laws than Minnesota’s which only applies to people under age 16, requiring in-person signed consent of the parent or guardian on a form disclosing the dangers of tanning. The form must be signed at the time of the minor's first "treatment" at the tanning salon. This law was enacted in 1993, as part of a separate chapter of law (chapter 325H) that regulates tanning salons in other ways, such as equipment, supervision, use of goggles, warning signs, and so on.

I will look to strengthen the law by requiring not only parental consent for those under 18, but parental presence. I will also look at beefing up the warning to include the possibility of melanoma and death from advanced stages of the disease.

Although the MN law 325H has restrictions and proscriptions, there doesn’t seem to be any clear line of authority or appropriate funding of a regulatory agency.

Finally, we need a prohibition of advertising implying that tanning devices have positive health benefits or using words such as “safe tanning", “no harmful rays”, “no adverse effect” or similar concepts.

I hope to make progress on this issue in the next legislative session.

Sincerely,

Phyllis Kahn
State Representative

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