State lawmakers have filed many damaging, regressive and even sexist bills this session (see below) but very few beneficial ones. The two exceptions: the eugenics compensation bill, HB 7; and HB 18, which prohibits people under age 18 from using tanning facilities without a written medical prescription. Here are some troubling statistics about the link between tanning and the deadliest form of skin cancer.
2.3 million Number of U.S. teenagers who visit a tanning salon each year
15% Increase in the risk of developing melanoma if you’ve used a tanning bed
75% Increase in the risk of developing melanoma if you used a tanning bed before age 35
44% Women in N.C. community colleges surveyed who say they have more self-confidence when they tan*
61,646 Number of people in the U.S. diagnosed with melanoma**
1–3 hours Amount of time you would have to spend at the beach without sun protection to equal 20 minutes in a tanning bed
*The 143 women surveyed were current and former tanning bed users
**2009, latest figures available
Sources Skin Cancer Foundation, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, N.C. Medical Journal