Wanting to feel “warm and energetic” in winter, Hope Courtright turned to indoor tanning at age 15. Almost a decade later, after being diagnosed with skin cancer, the Nanaimo native shared her story through the Canadian Dermatology Association’s (CDA) “Indoor Tanning is Out” campaign.
“I would ask for another two minutes to be added [to the session],” she said, describing her five-year, multiple-times-weekly use of commercial tanning beds. “I was young and invincible and thought nothing could happen to me.”
Unfortunately, in 2007, Courtright dozed off in a sun-bed, exposing herself to nearly two hours of ultraviolet (UV) rays. She suffered first-, second- and third-degree burns. Later, a spot on her arm was deemed cancerous and surgically removed. Today, her skin remains permanently sensitive to heat and sun.
“If you care about your body, stay away from tanning salons,” she warned other youth. “If you want a tan, use spray-on colour. It won’t cause you cancer.”
In 2009, a dramatic rise in skin cancer, particularly among young women, sparked the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to move UV tanning beds to its highest cancer risk category: “carcinogenic to humans.” Previous IARC research had associated the use of sun-beds before age 30 with a 75% increase in melanoma risk.
“Dangerous UV light is emitted from a commercial tanning bed at 10 to 15 times normal noon sunshine,” explained BC Cancer Agency head of prevention programs David McLean. “It’s in no way safe; I recommend avoiding the cosmetic use of tanning beds altogether.”
While he believes adults “have the right to do stupid things and make their own choices, protecting minors is a different situation.”
“I’ve seen many teens who use tanning beds because they think they’ll look better or they were peer pressured,” said McLean. “The Capital Regional District is exemplary in its decision to make this choice for them.”
He speaks to a bylaw passed last month in Greater Victoria, which makes it illegal for anyone under 18 to use commercial tanning beds in the region. Leading the charge is Richard Stanwick, chief medical health officer for the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA), who spearheaded the campaign to ban cigarette smoking in public places in the 1990s.
“My understanding is he was looking for the next great cause to attach himself to,” said John Boychuk, managing partner of Vancouver’s Banana Tans.
“I worry that, as we begin to look at other jurisdictions, we’re not basing it on information but on someone’s personal agenda.”
Like other local tanning salon operators, Boychuk fears Lower Mainland health authorities will blindly follow Victoria’s lead, passing laws without adequate industry consultation.
“Sure, there are people who go around looking for gyms or hair salons that have one or two beds in the back and no automated system to keep track of how much they’re tanning, but that’s where we feel an improvement in the requirement for some sort of standard in the industry would go a long way.”
He added that, as a member of the Kelowna-based Joint Canadian Tanning Association (JCTA), Banana Tans helps protect clients against UV overexposure by:
- skin-typing new customers and starting them on a graduated exposure schedule;
- recording their details and tracking their tanning histories; and
- training and certifying staff to follow safe tanning practices.
“Not everyone is a member [of the JCTA]; it’s not mandatory,” he said. “So saying you have to be over the age of 19 to tan isn’t the answer; there needs to be some sort of education happening in the industry.”
JCTA executive director Steven Gilroy agreed.
“In creating this bylaw, VIHA itself said it wasn’t in their jurisdiction to control tanning times and exposure schedules and make sure every indoor tanning salon has a certified and trained operator,” Gilroy told Business in Vancouver.
He added that his efforts to work with officials toward a solution that protects people of all ages have been largely unsuccessful.
“What we started asking for 18 months ago was controls – a full set of comprehensive regulations developed with government help that every owner/operator needs to follow.
“What we got was an outright ban, which tells me it’s more about perception than what’s going to really reduce the risk of skin cancer.”
According to Gilroy, studies on the correlation between commercial tanning beds and increased cancer risk often include beds found in people’s homes.
That, he said, is an important distinction, because “home sun-beds pose a much more serious risk because they’re uncontrolled.”
“When you remove these home sun-bed data from the IARC study, the new risk number is not 75% but just 6%, not even relevant, for those under age 35.”
As for critics who will claim Gilroy and Boychuk’s loyalties lie with revenue rather than public safety, both say a similar ban targeting minors in Vancouver would barely affect business.
“Every client that comes in here we enter into our database – their name, age, skin type and all of their tanning history goes in the computer so we can track their exposure times and help them tan safely,” said Boychuk. “We have over 7,000 clients in the system; if you search for people under 19, you get 51 names.”