Governor Mike Beebe signed into law today a measure that aims to limit minors’ access to tanning beds.

Arkansas now joins 29 other states that regulate the use of tanning facilities.

Act 707 requires a guardian’s signature before anyone under 18 years old is able to use a tanning facility. The parent or guardian must sign a warning, which describes the dangers of UV exposure, in the presence of the tanning operator, according to the provisions of the act.

The American Cancer Society estimates that there are 1 million new cases of skin cancer diagnosed each year. In 2008, the ACS estimated that 62,480 of those were new cases of melanoma – a deadly form of skin cancer, with 8,420 estimated deaths last year.

Representative Bruce Maloch authored the original bill at the request of the Arkansas Foundation for Skin Cancer, a non-profit organization that helps raise awareness of skin cancer and its causes in Arkansas. Senator Cecile Bledsoe also helped move the bill through the Senate. Maloch said he sponsored the bill to help bring attention to the realities of skin cancer and the danger of repeated UV exposure, especially for young people.

Most skin damage occurs before age 18, and some experts report that 80-percent of a person’s lifetime UV exposure happens in childhood. “UV radiation is known to increase the chances of developing skin cancer later in life and this law will help educate parents about the very real dangers that tanning poses to young people,” said Jennifer Long, executive director of the Arkansas Foundation for Skin Cancer. “Just like tobacco, UV rays are carcinogenic and should be treated with the same seriousness.”
 
If caught early Melanoma is treatable. However, because it easily spreads to other parts of the body, it can be very dangerous. Melanoma is the most common cancer among young adults 25 to 29 and the second most common among those 15 to 29. It is the leading cause of cancer death in women ages 25 to 30 and second only to breast cancer in women 30 to 34 in the United States. It is also one of just a few types of cancers that is on the rise, with a 7.7-percent increase in incidences for men and a 3-percent increase for women since 2001.

Exposure to UV radiation also causes other types of skin cancer, which are much less fatal but can still be disfiguring and painful. Non-melanoma skin cancer is the most diagnosed cancer in the United States. Forty to 50-percent of people who live to 65 will develop this form of skin cancer in their lifetime, according to the National Cancer Institute.