Assembly Committee approves bill banning minors from using tanning beds
Teens are required by law to obtain permission
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A bill to ban minors from using ultraviolet tanning beds was approved today by the Assembly Business, Professions and Consumer Protection Committee and sent to the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
Teens between 14 and 17 are required by law to obtain permission from a parent or guardian to use tanning beds. Children under 14 are banned from using the beds.
“Recent scientific research has shown that tanning beds cause skin cancer,” said Sen. Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, the author of SB 746. “The younger kids are when they start using tanning beds, the greater the damage to their skin and the more likely they are to die of skin cancer.”
Lieu cited studies showing that those who use tanning beds before age 35 increase their lifetime risk of melanoma by 75 percent. The Academy of American Pediatrics, which supports the bill, states that the intensity of radiation produced by large, powerful tanning units may be 10 to 15 times higher than that of the midday sun. Ultraviolet rays have been declared carcinogens by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA.
The Indoor Tanning Association, which represents thousands of indoor tanning manufacturers, distributors, facility owners and others from support industries, opposes the measure, saying tanning salons are already burdened by regulation and the new bill would have a negative impact on the industry statewide.
The association estimates that minors make up 5 to 10 percent of a typical facility’s customer base.
The association also argues that because the majority of tanning businesses are owned by women, the bill would disproportionately hurt female business owners.
Thirty states have restrictions on teen tanning but, if passed, this law would be the toughest imposed anywhere in the U.S., Lieu said. Several European countries have banned minors from using tanning beds and Brazil has banned their use entirely, according to Lieu.
No date has been scheduled for the Appropriations Committee to consider the bill, which was approved by the Senate by a 25-9 vote on June 1.
More than 200 children ages 5 to 16 recently participated in a project to paint a mural at the Martin Luther King Jr. Multi-Service Ambulatory Care Center (MACC).
These youngsters, who were part of the Freedom School summer programs held throughout Los Angeles County in conjunction with the Children’s Defense Fund, helped paint the 900-foot-long canvas as part of the ongoing construction surrounding the 2013 reopening of the Martin Luther King Jr. Hospital.
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A series of 10 free basketball clinics for children ages 6 to 14 conducted by the Los Angeles Clippers will begin Monday at the Exposition Park Intergenerational Community Center.
There will be a maximum of 250 participants in each clinic—100 from the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks day camp program and summer basketball leagues and 150 who registered in advance through the Clippers website, www.clippers.com, or by telephone at (310) 862-6031.
Four young people were injured in and one was killed the last week in violent confrontations, including Tierra Hartfield, pictured above. She was one of two women shot Tuesday at an apartment complex in the 13500 block of South Cordary in Hawthorne.
Foundation for Second Chances (FFSC) is a nonprofit organization founded in 2004 to make sure that children are being provided with the basic necessities, such as a quality education, the opportunity to flourish in a safe and nurturing environment, an opportunity to build self-confidence and self-esteem, and the ability to achieve.
Despite the usual glum surrounding the issue of education, there are educators who are adamant about making productive changes in schools such as at Florence Griffith Joyner Elementary School. The Summer Cool Program is just the beginning of something revolutionary at the school with the potential to change the community as well.
