Drawing a Tan Line

Assemblyman Joe Nation is wary of the dark. And the bronze. And even that reddish pink glow.

The Marin County lawmaker, who has pale skin and knows firsthand the dangers of skin cancer, wants to take away every California teenager’s freedom to get a wicked indoor tan.

He has introduced legislation banning anyone under 18 from using a tanning machine with ultraviolet rays, except under doctor’s orders. No more after-school roasting or base-coating before spring break.

“We don’t say it’s OK for a parent to give their child a cigarette at age 15, because there is no good that can come from that,” Nation said. “We also know there is no good that can come from a tanning salon.”

The reaction from the estimated $2 billion-a-year tanning business was mixed.

“This is Hollywood; kids don’t live here,” said Nick Stone, 35, who answered the phone at L.A. Tanning on Sunset Boulevard. “Check with the Valley.”

Over in Sherman Oaks, Ashley Karatsony at Suntans to Go said she thought Nation had a bad idea. Now 18, she has been tanning for several years. She said people from 16 to 60 enter the store, including students from nearby Notre Dame High School.

“That would definitely be a huge deal,” said Karatsony, “especially for, like, the tanning economy.”

As for the possible health dangers, she said: “As long as you’re not burning, you are good to go.”

Suntans to Go requires a teenager to be accompanied by a parent or to sign a release to tan under ultraviolet rays. Nation said teenagers should instead consider spray-on or bottled products. He is concerned about teenagers who habitually tan, sometimes called “tanorexics.”

Nation had a chunk of his leg removed because of melanoma three years ago, and says there is no healthy tan. About 7,400 people die every year from melanoma, out of 1 million new skin cancer diagnoses.

Dermatologists have been warning people away from tanning machines for years. The Skin Cancer Foundation blames French designer Coco Chanel for starting an 80-year obsession with tanned skin. It reports that UV radiation, such as that from indoor tanning “seems to be the cause of all three common skin cancers -- basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma and melanoma.”

Hayley Johnson, who is 16 and works at Dark Side Tanning near Sacramento, said she was aware of the possible side effects but would be upset if Nation’s bill became law.

“It would mean I would just spend more time in the sun,” she said. Tanning, she added, “kind of changed my whole image because I used to be really white.... I really don’t like to be white; before summer starts, I like to have a little tan.”

Johnson, a junior at Casa Roble High School, said she tanned two or three times a week but recently used a spray-on tan favored by professional cheerleaders. “It made me turn bright orange, so I’m pretty ridiculous-looking right now,” she said.

In California, the Filante Tanning Facility Act of 1988 requires anyone between 14 and 18 to present a note from a parent to get a tan. Parents are required to accompany any child younger than 14 who wants to use a tanning booth.

The law also requires tanning booths to be less than 100 degrees. Timers have to be accurate. Sanitized protective eyewear is required. Workers have to be knowledgeable about the correct operation of a tanning booth.

Nation’s legislation would bar people younger than 18 from using a tanning booth unless a doctor says a patient needs the treatment for a skin condition. The tanning facility would be subject to a $2,500 fine per day for every violation. Local district attorneys could act as tanning police to enforce the law.

Why not just penalize parents who take their kids to the beach? Nation is not willing to go there. “I have never been to a tanning salon, but I can’t imagine that people who go to a tanning salon put on sunscreen,” Nation said. “But when people go to the beach, they put on protection.”

Nation’s bill recently passed the Assembly Judiciary Committee and is expected to be heard soon in the full Assembly.

There is no word on whether the bill would be supported by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose skin and hair sometimes take on a slightly orange patina. His spokeswoman Terri Carbaugh says the governor doesn’t comment on pending legislation.

But Senate leader John Burton, a world-class tanning buff, said he thought the Nation bill, AB 2193, might be a good idea. Burton loves sitting on his rooftop deck in San Francisco soaking up rays -- when it’s not foggy. He thinks the sun is healthier than the booth.

“It’s better just to be in the sun,” Burton said, smiling and shrugging. “I don’t know why.”