Since June 2012, Manitoba legislation required youth under 18 to have written consent from a parent or guardian, and youth under 16 to have a parent or guardian on site during indoor tanning sessions. That has now changed.
As soon as Spring 2015, minors under the age of 18 will no longer be allowed into tanning salons in Manitoba. The bill will also make it illegal to advertise tanning salons to children.
Other provinces in Canada have already banned tanning salons for:
- Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, New Brunswick for youth under 19
- British Columbia, Ontario, Québec, Prince Edward Island for youth under 18
Commercial tanning salons will also now need to provide customers with protective eyewear.
In 2009, the World Health Organization declared that UV rays from indoor tanning equipment are a known carcinogen – this means that indoor tanning equipment is known to cause cancer.
Researchers recently updated the estimated increased melanoma risk of indoor tanning during youth; indoor tanning even once before age 35 is associated with a 59% increase in melanoma risk.
