BOARDMAN, Ohio - Ohio lawmakers are turning up the heat, on an issue that's been controversial for some time.
A new law banning children 18 and under from using indoor tanning beds is in the works.
The proposed bill would call for tanning salon owners to be punished if they allow teens to use indoor beds. Violators would face fines and they could have their licenses revoked. Anyone who "aids or abets" a minor to obtain an indoor tanning service could be sentenced to up to two months in jail.
This is the third time lawmakers have tried to craft and pass such a law. Boardman Dermatologist Dr. Jennifer Lloyd, of Lloyd Dermatology Center, says she all for it and points to medical research to prove her stance.
"The World Health Organization classifies it as the same as cigarettes and plutonium, so it's bad, it causes cancer, we know it causes cancer and I think that all of the tanning beds should be labeled as cancer causing," Lloyd says.
But local tanning salon operator George Dimos, who owns TanFastic in Boardman, argues his beds are safer than the sun, because they can control exposure.
"Here we're able to regulate it, we're able to make sure they're doing it in a safe way," he says.
Dimos says at the end of the day, he's providing a service that's in demand in Ohio.
"The bottom line is that these folks are looking for that service, so they're going to get it, they're either going to get it here or they're going to get it outside if they can," Dimos says.
The 18 and under crowd is a customer base he doesn't want to lose, but Dimos says indoor tanning is still popular among those 25 to 40 years of age.
TanFastic also offers sunless spray tanning options, a service that Dr. Lloyd does recommend for those who want to obtain a faux glow without a risk attached.
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