Have you heard about this? Apparently, there is a new law in Utah (and other places) that mandates that if you want to go fry yourself in a tanning bed (can you glean my opinion on this topic?), and you're under 18, your mom or dad has to come in and say that it's okay. This comes after new studies in Europe have shown that exposing yourself to UV rays like the ones in tanning salons increases your risk of malignant melanoma from 2 to 7 times. You can't tell me that people thinking you've just been relaxing on vacation (even though it's the middle of February) is worth dying of skin cancer. Utah, which ranks in the top five in per capita deaths from melanoma, is joining 26 other states that regulate teenagers' use of tanning beds. The story (on NPR) also mentioned that tanning salons are now notorious for locating themselves within walking distances of middle and high schools.Neal and I were talking about this, and I thought, "isn't tanning kind of on its way out? I thought people were smarter now and that spray-on tans were the new rage."
Apparently not.
Click here to read the article.
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13 comments:
That's fantastic news! Seriously! It's like those people that smoke. DUH! My favorite product is the new daily bronzing lotion. Neutrogena, Neva, and Jergens all have their own line. If you need that glow to boost your self esteem, do it the smart way.
you're so right, mindy. i love a little Origins bronzer on my face. I'm still a little scared of bronzing lotions, but a trip to Hawaii in June may necessitate some action that way.
Hi Leslie! This is Emily Sincock Cowdell - I ran across a link to your blog on Kelly Lewis' blog a while back. It was sometime around Audrey's Birthday party....I ran across this and had to send it to you. Look at Ebay item #320081001279. My daughter has strawberry blonde hair so I'm always on the look out for red head stuff. : ) Your kids are adorable!! Take care!
i don't even care that i'm white. wait til you see me in hawaii, les. seriously. i used to tell my old roommate, kiersten (who was a big fan of the tanning bed), that she might as well start smoking. in my mind, tanning is just as bad as that. i even made her sign a thing saying she would never tan again. but i think she forgot about it.
and the blogging world shows itself to be small once again. emily sincock!
oh my goodness...we just had a young mother in our ward pass away from cancer (melanoma--she is one of the unlucky ones, skin cancer NOT caused by the sun), she left behind 3 kids (ages 6, 3 and 31 weeks). TAN IS NOT WORTH IT! As I watched what she went through, and now what her family is dealing with, I determined that I will do whatever it takes to prevent this from happening to me or my family! Skin cancer is NASTY!
emily! hi! thank you so much for the link to that item! totally getting it. how perfect for my red-haired horsie girl. :)
do you have a blog? i want to see your kids! and you. :)
I don't think this is new, is it? I grew up in Utah and my parents had to sign a waiver that they were allowing me to go because I wasn't 18 ant that was over 10 years ago.
Of course now I think how silly it was... I'm all about sunblock and keeping my skin healthy.
I would like some sort of natural glow/bronzer, but not sure what to try.
First of all let me introduce myself-- I am one of Rachel's sisters (one of the more obnoxious ones) just today I was parked right in front of a tanning salon in sugarhouse (ring a bell?) waiting for Annette while she purchased a pinata (another story) and I saw a girl inside the tanning story (is that what you call it) with an infant carrier waiting to go back. I was appalled. Anyways-- I am really not sure if an infant could be affected - but it made me sad!
Hi again! No blog yet! Thinking about it! It's so fun catching up w/ everyone! Email me w/ your email..I'll send you some pics! eacowdell@yahoo.com
Melanie Baker Minchey sent me an old video that she had made of the two of us. There was a picture of you and I at Youth Conference one year...it reminded me to send you the link of the artwork. : )
Talk soon! Emily
I've been using the Jergens bronzer and oil of olay's, which both are quite faint, but make me feel a little bit more sun-glowy than ghost-glowy. I totally thought tanning beds were "out" too, mainly in part due to the proliferation and advancement in the non-oranging self-tanners, oh well...
chel, the difference with this new law is that the parents have to come into the tanning salon, in person, to give consent.
and katie, you are anything but obnoxious! :) congrats on your new little one!
It's not just the tanning beds here that scare me. A few weeks ago we were on temple square in Salt Lake at a wedding waiting for the bride and groom and there was this teenage girl laying out in the grass (she had her skirt hiked up and sleeves of her shirt rolled up - so inappropriate for where we were, but that's another story). I was so worried about her - I mean with the higher elevation in Salt Lake, we're so much closer to the sun and the UV rays. I kept looking around for her parents! I am as pasty white as can be, and it always bothered me in high school and even college, but now I like the way I look and I'd much rather be healthy than tan. Now that we live in Salt Lake, I feel like I have to be extra careful with sunscreen and protective clothes for my family. Scary stuff! (Hi Leslie, it's Meagan Whisenant...Ashley K. gave me the link to your blog - I love reading about your beautiful family!)
My sister-in-law was always tan year-round when she was in high school... considering that her dad had a melanoma scare several years earlier and nasty moles run in the family, I'm sure they would've been glad to have this law on the books a few years ago so that she wouldn't have tanned so much.
Congrats on your upcoming Hawaii trip! We went about 2 weeks ago and I posted a few pics on my blog, in case you want to check them out and get even MORE excited than you likely already are! (You'll have to scroll through a 7 or 8 newer [but short] posts.)
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