California kids will soon have to hit the beach or the local pool to get their bronze on.
Beginning Jan. 1, those under age 18 will be banned from using tanning salons.
Supporters of the new law, recently signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, say the age limit is necessary because the radiation used in tanning beds damages skin and causes melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer.
California is the first state to ban all children from tanning parlors, although 30 other states also have some age restrictions on the salons, said the bill's sponsor, state Sen. Ted Lieu.
Lieu, in a statement commending Brown's decision, called skin cancer "a rising epidemic and the leading cause of cancer death for women between 25 and 29."
The new law will hurt tanning businesses, said the Indoor Tanning Association. The trade organization says 5 to 10 percent of the industry’s customers are under the age of 18.
Lieu says tanning beds have become so popular in his state that there are now more tanning salons in Los Angeles County than McDonald's restaurants or Starbucks coffee shops.
Christina Clarke, of the Cancer Prevention Institute of California, said, “Girls in affluent California communities especially are surrounded by the message that being tanned all year round is cool."
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