Should Minors Be Allowed to Use Tanning Beds?

Here in Australia we have been given a shocking "wake-up" call regarding the dangers of tanning beds with the recent death of a beautiful young woman. Clare Oliver presented the most powerful argument possible against young people (or anybody) using solariums to get a tan, as she spoke of the way her world came crashing down around her the day she was told she had melanoma.

That was four years ago when Clare, aged 22 at the time, had just completed her university degree and seemingly had the world at her feet. As she approached her death, she was compelled to speak out in an effort to warn other young people about the grave dangers of solariums. When she was 19, Clare had taken up a cheap offer whereby she could buy 10 sessions and get 20. She said that the girl working at the tanning salon told her that the fastest way to get a tan was to go in every second day and use speed cream - so that's what she did. However, after the 10th session she was starting to burn and it hurt, so she stopped. Her tragic comment in retrospect was, "I guess I stopped too late." Clare was absolutely convinced that those 10 sessions in a tanning bed had significantly contributed to the melanoma which was to take her life at such an early age. Several interviews conducted with Clare included comments from Associate Professor, Dr Grant McArthur from the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre in Melbourne, Australia. He gave the shocking information that a tanning bed delivers five times as much UV radiation as the midday sun. He did not hesitate to say that this phenomenon is "clearly linked to increased rates of skin cancer" and further stated that it is apparent that "UV radiation from solariums can mutate cells, and personally I wouldn't go near one."