Ontario plans to bring in bill banning youth from using tanning beds
TORONTO - The governing Liberals in Ontario are expected to introduce legislation today to ban people under the age of 18 from using tanning beds.
A source tells The Canadian Press that Health Minister Deb Matthews will table a bill banning the sale of tanning services to minors to protect them from skin cancer.
NDP health critic France Gelinas says she offered the Liberals the bill to move it through the legislature more quickly.
Gelinas says she's willing to work with anybody who will make sure that young people are protected, and Premier Kathleen Wynne says she's "keen" to work with Gelinas on the issue.
Gelinas, who started lobbying for a ban in 2008, also wants warning signs posted near tanning beds.
The Ontario Medical Association, which has been calling for a ban since 2010, welcomes the pending legislation.
"The evidence has been unequivocal over the last several years that tanning bed radiation is linked to skin cancer," said Dr. Samir Gupta, chairman of OMA's dermatology section.
