Tanning bed's a hot topic at Belleville council

By John Boldrick

The Canadian Cancer Society presented its case to Belleville city council Tuesday in an attempt to get restrictions placed on tanning bed usage among youth.

Heather Gray, manager of the Hastings Prince Edward County and Brighton unit of the Canadian Cancer Society, and volunteer Jeffrey Brace, presented to council information regarding the tanning industry and indoor tanning beds.

Gray and Brace presented council and onlookers with a slideshow highlighting some of the research done by the society. The presentation continued with Brace outlining the alleged dangers associated with indoor tanning beds.

The main focus of the society is to restrict and ban the use of tanning beds by youths, as they believe that no one under the age of 16 should use the devices and that those under the age of 18 (but over 16) should be restricted. Additional restrictions to marketing and promotions geared towards youths would also be put in place.

When asked by City Councillor Pat Culhane why the society was only focusing on restricting the usage by youths, Brace responded that while they believe tanning beds should be banned, they are currently just targeting young people.

“We are currently just focusing on the youth,” said Brace.

According to research done by the Canadian Cancer Society, melanoma skin cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in Ontarians between the ages of 15 and 29. Their research also determined that the use of a tanning bed increases the risk of melanoma in those less than 35 years of age by 75 per cent.

This comes on the heels of a reclassification of tanning beds. In July 2009, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization, reclassified ultra violet radiation, which is emitted by some tanning devices, in the highest cancer risk group, known as carcinogenic to humans. Previously, U/V radiation was classified as a probable carcinogenic to humans.

Restricted use for young people is not the only change that Brace and Gray are calling for. They would also like to see signs posted in all tanning facilities that outline the risks involved with the devices and the process.

They noted that there is currently no registry system in place for owning a tanning bed in Ontario. This is something that the society would like to see changed, by creating a provincial registry system.

The society would also like to introduce mandatory, Ontario specific training for all tanning facility personnel, so that they may be better equipped to warn people of the potential dangers involved.

The idea of a registry system and the introduction of signs warning the public of the potential dangers of tanning drew some questions from the council.

Councillor Jackie Denyes posed the question of who would enforce the changes if they were to be made into bylaws. Brace responded that they would need help from city employees to make sure the bylaws were followed.

“We are obviously looking for bylaw enforcement officials to do this,” Brace said.

Brace and Gray received support from at least one of the councillors. Culhane, who has been a nurse for 43 years, recognized the potential dangers involved with U/V rays and the risk of developing melanoma.

“Personally, I agree with them [Brace and Gray] 100 per cent,” said Culhane in an interview.

Council declined to take any action towards insuring that the Canadian Cancer Society’s plans would become a reality, at least for the time being.

“I think we will hear again from the Canadian Cancer Society. I think this is just their first foray, Culhane said.