Iowa is one step closer to requiring parental permission before a minor could book tanning bed sessions. The Iowa House voted to require written parental consent for their child to use a commercial tanning bed last year. Yesterday (Monday) the Senate approved the bill — but removed a section requiring the permission forms to include a cancer warning — so the House has to O-K that change before the bill goes to the governor. Senator Art Staed of Cedar Rapids has been trying to get this policy passed for a decade.
“Other states have acted. Iowa hasn’t and that’s just not acceptable,” Staed said. “We can’t regulate the sun, but we can regulate harmful artificial exposure.”
A month ago, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration dropped a proposal that would have banned teens from using tanning beds.
According to the National Institutes of Health using a tanning bed just one time before the age of 35 raises your risk of developing melanoma by 75 percent.
