Cancer society wants N.B. tanning age ban explained

The Canadian Cancer Society says it wants the New Brunswick government to explain how it enforces a ban on people under 18 using tanning beds.

New Brunswick is the only province in the country with such a ban on who can use tanning beds, which the World Health Organization said in a report this week greatly increase a person's risk of cancer.

Ellen Snider, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Cancer Society in New Brunswick, said there's no such thing as a safe tan.

"There's no way to get a safe tan, regardless of what you've read or what you've heard," Snider said.

"So the best course of action is to stay away from it completely and keep yourself protected."

Snider said salons know about New Brunswick's ban on people under 18 using tanning beds, a law that has been on the books since 1992.

Snider said given the WHO announcement, she'd like to know how the province goes about enforcing it.

The WHO is now classifying the ultraviolet rays from tanning beds as high risk.

This new international classification means tanning beds and ultraviolet radiation definitely cause cancer in humans, just as tobacco smoke and mustard gas do.

The International Agency for Cancer Research or IARC, the World Health Organization's cancer wing in Lyon, France, updated the level based on research published online Wednesday in the medical journal Lancet Oncology.

The study found that the risk of skin melanoma is increased by 75 per cent if a person starts tanning before age 30.

Debbie Fraser, who has two tanning beds in Fredericton salon, said she thinks as long as people use the beds in moderation, they're still safe.

"I think that when you're in the tanning bed, it's very controlled, as long as you don't overuse it," Fraser said.

"It's like overusing anything, the sun, cigarettes, liquor, whatever. You know, you can abuse anything."

Province relies on public

The Department of Health says it will punish tanning salons that provide services to people under the age of 18.

However, Meghan Cumby, a spokeswoman for the department, said the government relies on tanning salons to follow the rules and on the public to let them know when salons violate the law.

"Owners of tanning equipment are responsible to ensure that people under 18 years old don't use them," Cumby said.

"The enforcement of this regulation, which falls under the Public Health Act, operates on a complaint-driven basis."

Businesses that are busted with under-age tanners can be fined as much as $320 if they are found guilty of a first offence. The maximum fine for a second offence can hit $570.

However, if an operator is found to be breaking this law for financial advantage a judge may impose any fine deemed appropriate.