Louis Luke Barich, M.D.
549 Main Street
Hamilton, Ohio 45013
Speaker Jon Husted
Ohio House of Representatives
14 th Floor Riffe Center
Phone: (513) 863-3555
Fax: (513) 863-7546
E-mail: luke@fuse.net
June 12, 2007
Columbus, Ohio 43215
Dear Mr. Speaker and Members of the Ohio House of Representatives,
Ohio House Bill No. 230 is being introduced into Ohio’s House of
Representatives by sponsor Representative Courtney Combs of Hamilton with numerous cosponsors. This is being done because the medical profession and other concerned organizations and citizens have become increasingly concerned about the many hazardous effects of tanning parlor ultraviolet radiation including but not limited to skin cancer formation, premature aging of the skin, cataract formation and other eye damage including macular degeneration, tunnel vision and blindness, impairment of the immune system, photosensitizing reaction with various drugs, initiation and or aggravation of certain diseases such as lupus erythematosus, porphyrias, herpes infections, burns, death, etc.
The FDA has ruled that tanning rays are carcinogenic agents whether the ultraviolet radiation originates from a tanning parlor or from natural sunlight. However, tanning parlor radiation penetrates deeper and does more harm than natural sunlight and for some tanning fanatics, tanning becomes addictive which then makes tanning even more hazardous. The National Institute of Health (NIH) states that it takes only
20 minutes of tanning parlor ultraviolet radiation exposure to do the damage of five hours of natural sunlight ultraviolet radiation exposure.
People receive most of their dangerous lifetime exposure to hazardous ultraviolet radiation, that is tanning rays, before the age of 18 and numerous studies have established that skin cancer is closely associated with excessive ultraviolet radiation exposure before the age of 18. It is now estimated that at least 1 out of every
5 children is destined to develop a skin cancer during their lifetime.
Around twenty years ago there were about 500,000 cases of skin cancer diagnosed each year. Lately, there have been more than 1,000,000 new cases of skin cancer diagnosed each year and most of these skin cancers were preventable and represent about half of the more than 2 million total overall cancers of all organs diagnosed each year. It was estimated that in the year 2006 that there would be
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1,300,000 new cases of skin cancer diagnosed. Our Ohio State Medical Association,
Ohio Dermatological Association, American Medical Association, American Academy of Dermatology and virtually every medical organization and physician is very much concerned about the skin cancer epidemic America is experiencing. The AAD has a goal of reducing the incidence of this skin cancer epidemic and adopted the SCRIPT program meaning “Skin Cancer Reduction: Intervention Plan for Tomorrow” to encourage healthier behaviors and reduce the incidence of and mortality from skin cancer over the next 10-30 years through education and legislation.
Melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, is now the second most common cancer in women ages 20-29. About 50+ years ago a person had a lifetime expectancy of about 1 in 1500 of developing a melanoma. Now, the incidence of melanoma lifetime expectancy is approaching 1 in 50.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently recommended that no one under the age of 18 use tanning beds and sun lamps. The American Medical
Association urges all medical societies and physicians to educate their patients about the hazards of tanning and the EPA has developed a Sunwise School program to educate children about the hazards of tanning. The American Academy of
Dermatology, American Cancer Society and Skin Cancer Foundation have long standing educational programs to prevent skin cancer.
The regulation of tanning parlor ultraviolet radiation is governed by state laws and local ordinances and not by federal laws. It is illegal for cigarettes and alcohol to be sold in Ohio to those 17 years of age or younger and the medical profession and others feel that with all of the supporting available data regarding the hazards of tanning parlor ultraviolet radiation that the use of tanning parlor radiation should also be prohibited and not sold to those 17 years of age or younger. Because of the increased knowledge and the awareness of the hazards of tanning parlor ultraviolet radiation exposure to children the Ohio State Medical Association House of Delegates unanimously passed a resolution on May 20, 2006 to support the enactment of state legislation to protect all minors from the hazards of tanning parlor radiation by prohibiting the sale of tanning parlor radiation to those 17 years of age or younger.
In June 2006, the AMA House of Delegates unanimously passed a resolution to develop model state legislation to prohibit the sale of tanning parlor ultraviolet radiation to those 17 years of age or younger except as prescribed by a physician and that our American Medical Association widely disseminate this model legislation to its component societies.
Prohibiting the sale of tanning parlor ultraviolet radiation to children would eliminate a hassle between concerned, knowledgeable parents and recalcitrant, obstinate, contrarian children because children would not be able to be under peer pressure to go to tanning beds.
Because of these and many other concerns, the medical profession and many others feel that it is appropriate for legislation to be passed that would better protect our children, whi ch are our most important assets, and promote children’s health and safety and reduce their future health care costs.
These hazards and concerns are well documented in the scientific literature.
The tanning parlor industry is said to be a $5 billion dollar a year business. Despite
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the health hazards, those in the tanning parlor business are more interested in turning the color tan into the color green in their deep pockets than promoting the health and safety of children and reducing their future health care costs.
Instead of the tanning parlor industry voluntarily urging protective laws to protect all children, including their own, during a persons most vulnerable years from ultraviolet tanning parlor radiation, the tanning parlor industry, wherever and whenever possible, places obstacles in the path of the concerned medical profession attempts to protect children’s health and safety with meaningful protective laws
However, because of increased education and awareness of the hazards of tanning and concern about lawsuits, many that had been in the tanning parlor business now are quitting the tanning parlor business.
Because of increased education about the hazards of tanning, many who used tanning parlors in their youth have quit using tanning parlors and are now educating their children and others not to go to tanning parlors.
Our nation is facing a health care crisis in many ways including spiraling costs.
If we can decrease the incidence of preventable diseases, our nation will have more money to treat the non-preventable diseases. House Bill No. 230 will do much to decrease the incidence of many preventable diseases.
The medical profession and others are concerned about the hazards of tanning parlor ultraviolet radiation but we do not make the laws. We would be remiss in our responsibility to our patients and the public if we did not call to your attention the need to develop laws to at least protect and promote children’s health and safety and reduce their future health care costs. It is appropriate that the legislators, medical profession and others cooperate and join together in what could be considered a historical medical event in the passage of House Bill No. 230. We urge you to study the facts and recognize that no one has the right to willfully endanger and abuse a child’s health and safety and raise their future health care costs. The medical profession and many others urge you to pass House Bill No. 230.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Louis Luke Barich, M.D.
Ohio Dermatological Association
Past President and Cochairman Photobiology
Legislative and Education Committee
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