Utah youths may need parental consent to tan

A House committee narrowly approved a bill Thursday to require written parental consent for minors under the age of 18 to use tanning beds once each year.

The 6-5 vote by the House Business and Labor Committee came after a failed attempt by Rep. Kevin Garn, R-Layton, to amend SB52 to remove the parental consent requirement but require a posted warning about increased risk of skin cancer.

Garn cited a Davis County consent requirement that he take his daughter to a tanning salon and wait at the facility while she tans as an example of how "these rules get out of control. It's important to trust people to just use common sense."

But Sen. Pat Jones, D-Salt Lake City, said the amendment would have gutted a bill meant simply to "put parents back in control."

"It is true you can't mandate common sense," Jones said. "But we can mandate common sense with our kids."

The vote to send SB52 to the House floor for debate came after testimony citing European studies that indicate UV rays from tanning beds can increase the risk of malignant melanoma from two to seven times.

"We think it's long overdue," said Ben Tanner, CEO of the Huntsman Cancer Hospital. "We know there are significant risks that increase your chances of skin cancer."