Under 18 tanning bed ban on way in Canadian province of Ontario

The Canadian province of Ontario looks as if it will soon ban tanning beds/salons for persons under 18. A Bill proposing a ban is before Ontario's provincial legislature. The province of British Columbia has already enacted a ban last March.

The impending legislation, in the form of a private member's bill brought by NDP Member of the Provincial Parliament (MPP), France Gelinas in April, won the support of the Liberal government and is due to receive a second reading October 19; it could become law before Christmas. Melanoma increased using tanning beds When he embraced the NDP's health critic's bill in September, Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty noted that the "Canadian Cancer Society tells us young people who use tanning beds are 75 per cent more likely to be diagnosed with melanoma." Numerous studies have also suggested that anyone under 35 will dramatically increase their chance of contacting melanoma if they use tanning salons. The latest to support such a ban is Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson, himself a survivor of skin cancer. “The evidence is clear: the use of tanning beds is especially harmful for children,” Watson said in a statement. “Regulating this would be an important step towards reducing skin cancer rates.”