It may soon be illegal for anyone younger than 18 to catch some rays in a tanning bed in Baltimore County, if a County Council bill introduced Monday wins approval.

Councilman Vincent Gardina introduced legislation that would prohibit minors from using the beds.

Maryland law already requires parental permission for anyone younger than 18 to use one of the devices. Gardina's bill does not contain a parental permission provision.

"If it's bad, and the studies indicate that it is bad for you, then I don't think it should be allowed ... period," said Gardina, a Democrat who represents the 5th District including Perry Hall, Parkville and Towson.

Gardina's bill, however, does allow minors to use the beds if they have a doctor's order.

A study released in July by the World Health Organization found that exposure to all forms of ultraviolet light caused cancer in lab animals.

A 2006 study by researchers at San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego linked a 70 percent increase in the risk of melanoma and squamous cell cancer to people who use indoor tanning equipment before age 35.

Last month, Howard County Executive Ken Ulman and Peter Beilenson, Howard County's health officer, also introduced regulations banning the use of the equipment by minors.

In a story in the Howard County Times, Ulman said the current state regulation is not effective.

"This is not something we have taken up out of the blue," Ulman said in the Times story. "There is absolutely no enforcement of that law whatsoever."

The story also noted that Ulman's brother is a two-time skin cancer survivor.

Gardina's bill will have a hearing Nov. 10 and is scheduled for a final vote Nov. 16.

Also Monday, the council unanimously passed regulations governing pet cemeteries.

That bill, also sponsored by Gardina, requires all pet cemeteries to maintain specific records including maps of burial plots, the last known address of pet owners, dates of burial and size of each plot, as well as contracts for each plot it sells in the future.

The law also requires regular maintenance of burial grounds, sidewalks and pathways.

Cemetery operators are subject to a fine of $1,000 for each violation. Enforcing the law is left to county code enforcement officers.

The new law takes effect 45 days from the council's passage.

Gardina said the law was needed because of complaints he and other councilmen have received regarding pet cemeteries in the county.

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user comments (2)

user racermarty says...

It’s interesting that at birth your doctor understands the value to the human body of UV light. That is why jaundiced babies are allowed to bask in UV light. Why, knowing the value of UV light to humans at this early stage of life, is the value then forgotten and tragically for us all, even vilified and cast as evil? The sun is the giver of all life on earth. All life is linked to it in some way. It is preposterous to think that human beings are any different. This is just plain unnatural. Science knows that sunlight is indispensable to human survival. It also knows that Vitamin D is incredibly important to healthy functioning of the human body. It further knows that moderate exposure to UV light is the safest, best and most natural way for our bodies to receive and maintain the proper level of this all important substance. At the very least the arguments made by the majority of the medical community against UV light are extremely short sighted and irresponsible. The true reality of their actions is the devastation of the health of the general population. If you simply look at the number of deaths caused each year by various forms of cancer which science now tells us would be prevented by maintaining proper levels of Vitamin D, the message promoted by those sworn to protect and heal us, is absolutely opposite of what it should be. Every one of us who has lost a loved one to a cancer that could have and should have been prevented by proper education by medical professionals should be outraged that the modern medical community and big pharma put profits before our good health. I know I am.

Posted 11:21 AM, 10.21.09

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user suntanedu says...

Interesting that you choose to offer "the risk of melanoma – the most deadly form of skin cancer – increases 75% when people start using tanning beds before age 30". It now appears that the research that was selected may have supported a predetermined position; that all UV exposure is harmful, regardless of dosage. Vincent Cogliano, head of the IARC Monographs program where the WHO sanctioned group's debate originated -- admits the results on which many of the conclusions are based are "limited" as reported in the Ontario's The Whig Standard. The working group's review looked at 23 previously published studies that investigated the association between indoor tanning and melanoma risk in fair-skinned populations. But the studies included only fair-skinned people, who have been long proven to be more susceptible to melanoma. Cogliano said the use of fair-haired study subjects was natural since they are the ones who get the disease most often. Sounds slightly slanted, wouldn't you say? Following Gardenia's statement..""If it's bad, and the studies indicate that it is bad for you, then I don't think it should be allowed ... period..", then can we presume that as the sun shines on pools, little league games, hiking trails, golf courses, and soccer fields that they will also be prohibited by law from those under 18 years old? C'mon, its common sense! Let parents make the choices for their kids, not the goverment.

Posted 7:13 AM, 10.22.09

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