(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House has voted to make indoor tanning bed businesses off limits for minors — unless the teenager’s parent provides written permission in person.
Tanning beds emit far more ultraviolet radiation than the sun and Iowa is one of only six states that does not ban or regulate the use of tanning beds by minors. According to the National Institutes of Health, using a tanning bed even one time before age 35 raises your risk of developing malignant melanoma by 75 percent.
Representative Hans Wilz of Ottumwa says cancer prevention is just as important as cancer research. Iowa is the only state in the country with a rising cancer rate.