Trenton Takes First Step in Banning Tanning Machines
• Caputo's Legislation Passes in State Assembly
May 25, 2012 – Nutley community leaders concerned with the cancer-causing dangers of artificial tanning salons today applauded the N.J. Assembly's passage this week of legislation that would bar anyone under the age of 18 from using tanning beds in New Jersey.
Delaying the use of the tanning machines by young boys and girls "will help delay their exposure to potentially cancer-causing ultraviolet radiation," Assemblyman Ralph Caputo of Nutley said today.
The Mike Geltrude Foundation also issued a statement in Nutley today praising Assemblyman Caputo, the lead sponsor of the legislation in Trenton.
"We are very grateful to Assemblyman Caputo in seeing through this important piece of legislation, but we are only at the 50-yard line.
"We still need to push for a vote in the State Senate and if we can be successful there, Gov. Cris Christie will need to sign it before it becomes the new law," Dan Geltrude, president of the Nutley foundation said this afternoon.
The State Assembly vote was 58-7-13 to approve the bill, propelled in part by the recent incident involving the Nutley woman accused of bringing her daughter into a Franklin Avenue tanning booth. The woman's dark tan along with photos of her daughter were shown on nation-wide television for several days earlier this month.
"The legislative bill I am sponsoring is akin to when we raised the tobacco purchasing age to 19. Hopefully time delayed is life saved," Assemblyman Caputo told NJHometown.com today.
Caputo's bill (A-2142) would bar anyone under the age of 18 from using tanning beds in New Jersey, regardless of whether they have obtained parental permission. However, the bill would allow teens 14 years of age and older, with written permission, to use spray tanning, which does not expose them to UV radiation the way a tanning bed does.
Current law allows emancipated minors and minors between 14 and 18 years of age, who have written authorization from a parent or guardian, to use tanning facilities.
"Research shows that melanoma is on the rise and the increase is greatest among young women," said Assemblywoman Pamela Lampitt of Camden/Burlington who joined Caputo in sponsoring the legislation that now awaits the consideration by the State Senate.
"Hopefully this bill will help educate everyone about the risks of melanoma and eventually save lives," Assemblywoman Lampitt said.
