MAY 4 — The American Suntanning Association (ASA) congratulates West Virginia lawmakers this week for enacting parental-consent legislation that ASA supported and that professional sunbed centers have used as a standard for years.
West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signed the law May 1, which will take effect in July. It formalizes the protocol professional salons have already had in place: Requiring parents to sign consent for teenagers to use sunbeds in a salon. This standard recognizes that many medical professionals believe sunburn prevention — not total sun avoidance — is what needs to be emphasized in public policy on this topic.
ASA this spring encouraged the West Virginia House of Representatives to enact the standard as a practical alternative to legislation in the West Virginia Senate that would have banned all teenagers from using sunbeds in a salon. Total bans would lead families who wish to tan to unregulated home sunbeds and more-frequent outdoor tanning — both of which are more likely to lead to sunburn and overexposure.
“Nationwide, ASA is working with state legislatures to support informed parental consent as the standard for sunbed usage by teenage clients,” ASA President Bart Bonn said. “We have always supported constructive legislation on this topic.”
The American Suntanning Association (ASA) is the largest network of professional businesses dedicated to providing responsible indoor tanning services while increasing public awareness about the facts associated with moderate UV and spray-on tanning. For more information about ASA visit www.AmericanSuntanning.org.