Tuesday, August 24, 2010

TANNING BOOTH PROHIBITION

According to MidHudsonNews, Dutchess County Legislator Angela Flesland (R-Poughkeepsie) is continuing her effort to have a local law passed that would prohibit underage people from using sun tanning booths. I would have to agree with Angela. The rate of skin cancer is on a dramatic rise in America and artificial exposure (at such an early age) may play a significant part.

What caused delay in the Dutchess Legislature is the notion that the state may adopt its own prohibition in the not-too-distant future. Rumors about the state acting in such a broad sweeping manor regarding indoor smoking lasted for years before they came to their senses. I say do it on your own.

Flesland said there must be protections for young people. She's right. Parents have the duty to educate their kids on whats safe and harmful, but if you look at the way many of them are dressed on the street, parents either don't care or cant control them, so many preventive measures have to come from the State.

Angela was quoted: “There are thousands of young women being diagnosed with melanoma and dying of skin cancer and it’s something that we have to address.”

I would remind her that it's not limited to just young women, but she has the right idea. This proposal was introduced to me through a Twitter post by Patricia Doxey about the same time we lost our friend Shelly Zimbler in his battle with cancer. So I asked that a similar resolutiuon be brought up to our Legislature. It should be reviewed for a second time in this month's Health Committee.

Flesland hopes to bring in tanning industry officials and physicians to discuss the issue with the Dutchess legislature. The only delay in our action in Ulster was the issue of enforcement and by whom.

7 comments:

Joe Bubel said...

Perhaps is it just industry tripe, but I was made to understand, tanning booths have less of the harmful rays than natural sun. Perhaps, the rise in skin cancer could be attributed to an increase in the Sun's output in recent decades? Or the increase in bikinis. :-) Maybe you and Suzan can prohibit Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikinis. lol

Anonymous said...

Tanning beds have more harmful rays due to the concentration of UVA and UVB. Just think about it..If you can get a tan in 3 days or so in a booth and if you sit in the sun it might take a week or more to get a tan for the normal type of skin. What do you think is the more harmful of the two? Why do people not wear sunscreen in tanning booths while people who sit in the sun wear sunscreen. The idea is to get the darkest tan in the shortest time span in the booth. Very dangerous. Teens and young adults for the first time in decades are being diagnosed with melanoma. This can be contributed to tanning booths. So Joe, do some more research. As a nurse who has seen people die from the lethal form of skin cancer I cannot take this matter lightly or with any sense of humor. Sorry! I will get off my soapbox, now.

Anonymous said...

Right on!

Joe Bubel said...

I just have to ask, do you liberals even realize how, in the name of 'good', you absolutely SUCK the fun out of most things in life? Can you even see that side of things? Or is protecting everyone from themselves so important to you, it leaves you blind? Old Man Snyder still allows kids to sleighride on his farm. How long to you think that would last, once someone like Suzan gets the itch to protect the children from sleighriding?

Did you wear helmets as a kid, and you survived? Were you required by law to wear a seatbelt as a child, and you survived? Did you have sugar and salt with your meals, and you survived? I find it amazing, how so many of us survived the 60s and 70's as kids. One would think a majority of us should have died due to accidents.

Stick with things like banning plastic bags, that is something we can all live with. But jeese, stop trying to protect us from ourselves.

BTW, how did you like my tan in my picture? 100% sun.

Anonymous said...

This nurse is not a liberal. I am a conservative/republican. Sorry to blow your theory. I agree on some of your last postings but when it comes to something that has been proven to be deadly and can be prevented wouldn't you concede that protection is the way to go? I too have a light tan but I tanned carefully with a SPF 45sunscreen over a period of several weeks.
I don't have a problem taxing the tanning salons. Eventually we all will pay for an individual's cancer diagnosis thru health coverage by higher insurance premiums or for a person being uninsured.

Joe Bubel said...

Hi Nurse,
I really wasn't directing my scorning of liberals at you. It was more of a general scorning :-). As a conservative, you agree that it is the PARENTS responsibilty, not the law, to allow or not allow their children to do this and that. Now, I know a 'law' gives the parents an 'out' when it comes to being 'tough' on their kids. The law takes away the tough argument with your child who wants to do it, because 'Nancy Ispopular' is doing it too. Why should we give an out to LAZY and 'I want to be your friend' parents?

Anonymous said...

Joe, it is not just parents who are allowing their kids to go to the salons. Grown ups go too but were of the belief, that was spewed by tanning salon owners,that this was a safe way to get a tan or the need to get a "base" tan before they head for the beaches.
And yes, I feel there are parents out there who don't parent well and rely on the government entities to do their work for them. If kids don't listen to them then let the law tell them. Which, by the way, is not what government is all about.
On the other hand, we do have unscruptious individuals who will see how far they can push the public safety issues for their personal gain/wealth. At that point the government should get involved for safety of the general population.(food recalls, car recalls,medications recalls and etc)