Bill seeks to curb indoor tanning for teens

The Health and Human Services Committee heard testimony Jan. 25 on a bill that would prohibit tanning facilities in Nebraska from allowing people younger than 18 to use tanning equipment.

Omaha Sen. Jeremy Nordquist, sponsor of LB132, said he introduced the bill to lower the risk of skin cancer among young adults in Nebraska. The prohibition would apply to sun lamps, tanning booths and tanning beds.

An owner or operator of a tanning facility found to be in violation of the bill’s provisions would be guilty of a Class V misdemeanor. LB132 also would require tanning facilities to post a warning sign in a conspicuous location outlining the dangers of overexposure to ultraviolet radiation.

Nordquist said lawmakers have a history of protecting young people from the long-term consequences of dangerous behavior. He noted that people younger than 18 are not allowed under state law to purchase handguns, alcohol or cigarettes and cannot legally consent to body piercings or tattoos.

Laws even prohibit those under 18 from attending R-rated films, he said, adding that exposure to a Class 1 carcinogen is more potentially harmful to the state’s young people than viewing an inappropriate movie.

“This is an issue that is truly a matter of life and death,” Nordquist said.

Kasey Shriver, who was diagnosed with melanoma as a teenager, testified in support of the bill, saying she began indoor tanning as a 14-year-old without fully understanding the risks.

Shriver said she was an athlete who exercised regularly and did not smoke.

“I thought I was doing everything right,” she said. “It should not take another 17-year-old prom queen diagnosed with cancer to make a change.”

Dr. David Watts, representing the Nebraska Medical Association, also testified in support of the bill, saying the risk of melanoma is 20 percent higher among those who use indoor tanning.

“The more indoor tanning, or the younger the person, the higher the risk,” he said. “We are witnessing a developing public health crisis.”

Barton Bonn, owner of Ashley Lynn’s Tanning, testified in opposition to the bill, saying the danger is from sunburn rather than sun exposure. He said his company stresses the need for moderation and educates the community about UV exposure.

“All we are is a simulation of sunlight,” he said, adding that government already regulates the use of indoor tanning beds to ensure their safety.

Steve Grasz of the Nebraska Indoor Tanning Association also testified in opposition to the bill, calling it a “heavy-handed intrusion” by government into small business in Nebraska.

If enacted, Grasz said, LB132 would be the most extreme law in the United States regulating indoor tanning. Currently, only Vermont and California ban indoor tanning for people under 18, he said, and penalties in those two states are less severe than in the proposed legislation.

“If the industry isn’t being responsible, there are other ways to address the issue,” he said.

Grasz said young people would not stop tanning as a result of ban, but simply would tan aggressively outdoors or use home tanning devices.

The committee took no immediate action on the bill.