The tan ban
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- July
- 29
Tanning beds are a top cancer risk, scientists from the World Health Organization announced. (See story here.)
A new analysis of about 20 studies concludes the risk of skin cancer jumps by 75% when people start using tanning beds before age 30.
What does that mean for Rockland? Well for county legislators who in 2006 pushed through legislation to ban on sunless tanning by those under 16 and required parental consent fo rthose 16 and 17, it means vindication. At least for the legislator behind the law, Alden Wolfe, D-Suffern. Westchester has a similar law.
Today, Wolfe sent out a press release:
.., Rockland County set the standard on this important issue, enacting one of the strongest measures in the country. This study justifies what I believed all along – that the dangers of tanning, particularly to our youth, cannot be underestimated.”
Now, the tanning law was one of a series of legislative activity that had many crying “nanny state.” They included a smoking-with-kids-in-the-car ban, and a much misunderstood 3-minute curb on idling that was part of a federal Environmental Protection Agency agreement with metropolitan area municipalities. The tanning ban, though, caused a lot of ruckus. County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef, who pushed the idling law, vetoed the tanning ban, but the Legislature mustered the votes for an override.
The ban also helped launch a run for public office. Frank Sparaco, who owned a tanning salon and was president of the Rockland County Young Republicans, challenged fellow Republican and 38-year incumbent Theordore Dusanenko. ‘The Dus” retired.
Sparaco went on to win. His priorities were keeping the county budget, and taxes down, and keeping governent out of people’s personal lives. Certain decisions should be left up to the individual and not the government,” he said when announcing his challenge.
This entry was posted
on Wednesday, July 29th, 2009 at 12:58 pm by Nancy Cutler.
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People tan and as a result they contract skin cancer and then the health care industry has to pay for what they basically caused themselves. There are plenty of healthy spray tan alternatives in Rockland county so people do not have to use the fake and bake. There are the cheaper sprays like Beach Bum and the high end sprays like Aurelio Sun Bar where you cannot even tell that it is a fake tan. The legislature is just trying to prevent teens from accessing products that cause severe harm! If you need a tan so badly, go get a spray tan. Its harmless and you don’t smell like you have been cooking in a microwave!