Governor Corbett signed a bill into law on Tuesday that sets new rules for teenagers that use tanning salons. The law bans anyone 16 years old and younger from going to an indoor tanning salon in Pennsylvania. It also says that 17 year olds need parental consent.
That’s good news for dermatologist Natalie Bene who said she sees cases of melanoma all too often. “I do see it every day. It’s like an epidemic of people that want to be tan,” said Bene. One recent study found that for people with melanoma between the ages of 18 and 29 there’s more than a 75% chance that it was caused by tanning beds. The consequences are also cosmetic. “Their skin becomes wrinkly, uneven tone. A lot of sun spots, leathery it looks like” said Bene.