Florida Indoor Tanning Restrictions for Minors
Published May 9th, 2012
By: Yaremi Farinas
A recent story made national headlines when a New Jersey mom was accused of putting her five-year old into a tanning bed.
Here in Florida, some say the rules are very lax.
"It's wrong," said Amber Purcell.
Even though 22-year-old Purcell tans about twice a week, she believes no one under 18 should be tanning.
"I just think they are too young to be doing all of that. It's like wanting to get piercings and stuff when your seven I just think it's not the right age to be starting that," said Purcell.
The National Conference of State Legislatures states that
here in Florida kids under 14 can tan indoors if accompanied by their parent.
Teens between 14 to 18 have to get their parents permission, but the parent does not need to be there while they are tanning.
Teens between 14 to 18 have to get their parents permission, but the parent does not need to be there while they are tanning.
"I just don't think its appropriate," said Purcell.
We wanted to know if you could take your kid indoor tanning here in Gainesville.
We spoke to a manager from Planet Fitness. Yes they are a gym, but they also offer tanning along with their membership.
They have to abide by the Florida laws just like a regular tanning salon.
"The people that are able to tan are if their 18 and older. The reason why it's 18 and older is because we want to supersede the benefit to make sure it's a more mature crowd that comes in to tan," said Zach Munson.
Even though the state allows minors to tan if a parent is present, some places have different standards.
Dr. Robert Skidmore from the Florida Skin Cancer and Dermatology center said he is completely against people exposing themselves to U-V rays.
Especially in younger children.
"A young child in their teens can not tolerate the same amount of UV exposure. So I think the risk for them to develop skin cancer is far greater than even the average adult," said Skidmore.
He said every time you gain a tan you are also damaging your skin's DNA
.
.
That's a choice Purcell doesn't mind making for herself, but not her child. Until she is 18.
"She can make her own decisions. I can't really tell her that she can't then," said Purcell.
We contacted over six local tanning salons to see what procedures they follow.
Some said they couldn't talk to us because they had to contact corporate. Others said their managers weren't on duty at the time so they couldn't be on camera.
