It’s no secret that being out in the sun for too long can cause skin cancer. The risk is especially high for minors, which is why our moms smeared suntan sludge over our chubby toddler faces. It’s what good responsible mothers do.
So why are parents, teens and salon owners so ignorant about the fact that it is illegal for minors to go to tanning salons without parental consent?
That’s right. A 1988 state law bars minors from tanning salons if they cannot show that they have the consent of their parents. But as Mosaic Staff Writer Samantha Zenk revealed in this issue, parents don’t know that. And teens, who are at the highest risk for skin disease later on in life from using the devices, are being allowed to frequent tanning salons that let them in without even checking their age.
What’s the point of passing a law if it’s not going to be enforced? If the threat to teens is great enough to warrant legislation, then it should be important enough to enforce properly.
Moreover, the public should be as knowledgeable about the dangers of artificial tanning as they are about the health risks associated with smoking or binge drinking. If these activities can be restricted to people over a certain age, why have tanning laws and the issues they address been reduced to the level of local trivia?
Laws are ordained because society decides that problems need to be addressed. They can’t be addressed if the laws are going to be ignored.
Besides leaving the problem unresolved, ignored laws make a mockery of the entire legal system and foster resentment among those affected by the law. Tanning laws need to be thoroughly reviewed by legislators, and a working system of protecting teens from ignorance needs to be implemented.
If all else fails, there’s always good ol’ fashioned sunlight to give you that golden-brown glow. The best part is that basking in the sun will never require parental consent.