Ontario Medical Association supports possible tanning bed bylaw in Sarnia

Sarnia, Where we live — By JD Booth on June 18, 2011 at 3:32 pm

The President of the Ontario Medical Association says Sarnia is on the right track in asking municipal staff to study the possible implementation of a tanning bed bylaw.

“We fully support your initiative and encourage all councillors to support it as well,” said OMA President, Stewart Kennedy in a letter to Mayor Mike Bradley.

He called Bradley's commitment to preventing skin cancers, “laudable.”

“Ontario’s doctors know there is no such thing as a healthy tan and we want to dispel the common misconception that tanning beds are safer than exposure to UV rays from the sun,” added the Thunder Bay-based Stewart.

He says the OMA's provincial election campaign includes a call to ban the use of tanning beds for anyone under the age of 18 in Ontario.

He says Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Texas, California, Belgium, Germany, France, New South Wales, Australia, Spain, Portugal have already banned the use of tanning beds for people under 18, while Brazil has banned them altogether.

Photo courtesy of the Ontario Medical Association website

Tags: cancer, City of, health, mike bradley, Ontario Medical Association, Sarnia, tanning bed