Lieu Legislation to Reduce Skin Cancer Rates Passes Out of Assembly Judiciary Committee

(Sacramento, CA) – AB 105 (Lieu), a bill that would raise the minimum age kids may use dangerous tanning devices, passed out of the Assembly Judiciary Committee today.
The World Health Organization and the American Academy of Dermatology have recommended that no person under the age of 18 use a tanning bed because of the associated increased risk for skin cancer.  AB 105, if enacted today, would be the first bill in the nation to implement that recommendation.

“Over a million individuals in the U.S. visit tanning salons daily, many of whom are minors who do not understand the cancer-causing effects of sustained ultraviolent radiation.” said Lieu. ”The main focus of AB 105 is to protect our children from the devastating effects of skin cancer caused by overexposure in ultraviolet tanning beds.  Studies indicate the effects of the ultraviolet radiation accumulate and the younger the age of the person, the more harmful the radiation will be.”

Last year the American Academy of Dermatology reported that melanoma, caused by sunburns and UV light damage to the skin, has become one of the most common cancers among men and women between the ages of 20 and 29.

“Indoor tanning during youth prematurely ages the skin and increases the risk of skin cancer,” said Dermatologist Craig A. Kraffert, M.D., of the California Society for Dermatology.  “Unchecked indoor tanning during youth has the potential to make America's epidemic skin cancer statistics even worse.  For these reasons, CalDerm supports thoughtful, rational disease prevention policy such as that in the measure proposed by Assemblymember Lieu."  Reducing skyrocketing skin cancer rates will also help reduce the burden on the health care system.

AB 105 will ban minors under the age of 18 from accessing tanning facilities and will prohibit tanning facilities from advertising fraudulent or misleading claims stating that indoor tanning has any sort of health benefit.

“The fact is that indoor tanning not only irrevocably damages the skin but can also cause deadly skin cancer,“ said Lieu.  ”The purpose of this bill is to protect our youth from being misled and making decisions that could ultimately cause permanent health damage or even death.”