Tanning Salons Face $345 Fine For Underage Tanning
Changes to
a provincial regulation banning youth under the age of 18 from ultraviolet (UV)
tanning are now in force to reduce the chances of developing skin cancer later
in life.
Effective
Oct. 15, 2012, businesses that fail to post the required sign informing the
public of the ban, or who violate the ban by unlawfully permitting minors to
use their indoor tanning equipment without a prescription, will face a fine of
$345 for each offence.
Under
the Public Health Act, changes to the provincial regulated activities
regulation ban the use of commercial UV indoor tanning beds by youth under the
age of 18, unless they have a medical prescription for a condition such as
psoriasis that requires ultraviolet light treatment. Today’s announcement
follows the government’s commitment in March to ban youth from indoor tanning.
The
March 20, 2012, tanning bed ban announcement followed the release of a report
compiled by an Indoor Tanning Working Group. The report was issued to provide
recommendations and options.
The
working group was established following the Capital Regional District’s 2011
bylaw that banned minors under the age of 18 from using indoor tanning beds. A
number of requests for a provincewide ban were received, including a resolution
from the Union of B.C. Municipalities.
The World Health Organization has found that indoor tanning before the age of 35 raises the risk of melanoma by 75 per cent. Melanoma is the most deadly type of skin cancer. In Canada, the incidence rates of melanoma are rising every year. Overall, skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in Canada, and yet it is also one of the most preventable.
In 2012, the BC Cancer Agency estimates that 966 British Columbians will be diagnosed with melanoma and 150 will die of it. One in 69 females and one in 56 males is expected to develop melanoma during their lifetime. One in 413 females and one in 284 males is expected to die of melanoma.
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