House tanning-bed debate: ‘It’s causing people to get sick and die’

The House is now debating HB 486a, the tanning-bed bill. Rep. John Rusche, D-Lewiston, said the bill as amended bans use of tanning beds for children 15 and under, and requires parental consent for those age 16 or 17. Idaho already has such regulations regarding tattoos, he noted. “Tattooing, while it may be weird and it may be ugly, does not cause cancer. ”

Rusche, a retired pediatrician, said, “There is an epidemic of melanoma, particularly in young women. Over one-third of young women age 16-18 in Idaho use tanning beds. Use of tanning beds has a 75 percent increase in melanoma incidence.”

House Health & Welfare Chair Janice McGeachin, R-Idaho Falls, said her earlier concerns over the bill have been put to rest through two extensive hearings on the bill in her committee. “There’s absolutely no reason for an individual under the age of 15 to be going into a tanning bed,” she told the House. “I look at it purely from a health perspective. … I can support this legislation because I do believe that it’s a serious health risk and we are seeing a really high incidence of melanoma skin cancer. It’s causing people to get sick and die.”