American Academy of Pediatrics to band tanning for children under 18

WICHITA, Kansas – The American Academy of Pediatrics wants to ban children and teens from using indoor tanning devices. But some local tanning salon owners say they're already doing their part to make kids more aware of the increased risk of skin cancer.

The so-called ‘golden glow’ is one of the many reasons men and women of all ages are drawn to the ultraviolet rays of tanning beds.

“I question it every time I tan, but we all do it,” said Cathy Vickery, who uses indoor tanning beds. “And we all know the warning signs and we all know how dangerous it is.”

But the AAP doesn’t want to expose children to those risks and in a new policy statement Monday, the group says it favors keeping kids under 18 out of tanning salons.

“I don't think they should do that, because I like to tan,” said Taylor Hicks, who uses tanning beds.

“I think that'd be not the right thing,” said Dawn Stock, manager at B-Tan.

Stock is against closing her doors to minors. She believes implementing such restrictions would lead to kids using unsafe and unregulated tanning devices.

“The teenagers want to tan so they're going to tan,” Stock said.

Right now, more than 30 states have some sort of restrictions on tanning for children under 18, but Kansas is not one of them. Legislators last year rejected a bill that would have required parental consent for minors.

Even though it’s not Kansas law, some local tanning salons already require parental permission for children under 16.

“A lot of our parents and kids they tan together,” Stock said. “They come in together; it's kind of their time together.”

But no matter your feeling toward so-called ‘fake baking,’ there’s one thing parents KSN spoke with agree on – the decision to bask under the bulbs should be theirs, no one else's.

“I don't think I'd want the government telling me what I can do with my children,” said Vickery.

Tanning salon owners KSN spoke with say if children under 18 were not allowed to use their facilities, they would experience a significant drop in business.





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