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Miss Ohio pairs up with state rep. on tanning ban

By Staff Report Updated 1:45 PM Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Miss Ohio joined a local lawmaker and others today, May 20, in backing a bill aimed at curtailing youth tanning and recognizing May as melanoma/skin cancer detection and prevention month.

State Rep. Courtney Combs, R-Hamilton, held a news conference to promote a bill he wrote that would ban tanning without a prescription for anyone under age 18.

Miss Ohio Karissa Martin stated support of the bill, saying part of her pageant platform has been educating youth on the dangers of skin cancer after she was diagnosed with abnormal skin cells resulting from a sunburn at age 14.

“My platform is much more than just a platform,” Martin said. “It is a passion to educate our youth and in some small way help in the battle against skin cancer.”

Combs, Martin and bill co-sponsor Lorraine Fende, D-Willowick, were also joined by Mark Bechtel, director of dermatology at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

“As a physician, I have become increasingly alarmed by the increase in the number of my young patients presenting with melanoma and other serious skin cancers caused by excessive exposure to hazardous ultraviolet radiation in tanning beds,” Bechtel said. “Therefore, Ohio must take bold action in enacting House Bill 173 to ensure that minors are no longer exposed to the harmful human carcinogens produced by tanning beds.”

The measure is supported by the Ohio State Medical Association, American Medical Association, the Ohio Dermatological Association, the American Academy of Dermatology Association, the Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Melanoma No More, and the Skin Cancer Foundation.

Combs and Fende are scheduled to provide testimony on HB 173 on Thursday before the Ohio House Consumer Affairs and Economic Protection Committee.

“House Bill 173 is a very important piece of legislation that is not a Republican issue or a Democratic issue but an Ohio health issue,” Fende said. “By regulating the use of tanning beds by minors, we will be taking preventative steps to avoid possible serious health issues later on. Quite simply, the perceived cosmetic gains associated with tanning beds are not worth the irrevocable damage resulting from the intense UV radiation the beds produce.”

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