Tanning bed ban would be first in Canada

Victoria, B.C., and its neighbouring municipalities may become the first in Canada to bar teenagers from using indoor tanning beds.

The Capital Regional District — comprising Victoria and 12 adjoining communities on southern Vancouver Island — will vote Wednesday on a bylaw to regulate tanning salons, including a ban on anyone under 18 years of age.

It also sets sanitary standards, demands that warning signs be posted and that protective eyewear be worn by tanning bed users.

However, some in the industry say the bylaw does not go far enough.

"What it fails to do is address any of the other issues regarding indoor tanning and how to make its safer for the general public," said Angie Woodhead, co-owner of Cabana Tan in Victoria.

Cancer Society endorses bylaw

Woodhead said there should be mandatory training for tanning salon staff and people with certain skin types should not be allowed to use the tanning beds.

In its report, the regional district admitted it rejected those suggestions because it decided such regulations would be too difficult to enforce.

Guidelines issued by the government of New Brunswick in June 2009 also call for an age limit of 18, but remain voluntary.

The head of the Canadian Cancer Society in B.C. strongly endorses the bylaw.

"Indoor tanning causes cancer. It's the cause of melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer," ., Barbara Kaminsky said. "Certainly for people that are under 18, we do not think they should be put in the position where they could be making a very costly mistake that would affect their health in the future."

Kaminsky said the World Health Organization has declared the tanning bed "a known carcinogen" that produces five times more damaging ultraviolet radiation than exposure to the midday sun.