The teen tanning ban has been passed in California. On Sunday October 9, California Governor Jerry Brown signed a flurry of bills, including a bill that bans tanning for those 18 and under. Many younger tanners are complaining about the new ban and many businesses are concerned that the new law is going to further hurt their businesses, seeing as how they are still taking hits from the 10% tan tax.
Speaking of the tan tax, it has been relatively quiet around the repeal effort. It looks like businesses are starting to come to terms with the tax, but if we here any more about the repeal we will definitely post something. But it is hard to tell if there will be a movement to repeal the teen tanning ban as well. From the looks of things, some salon owners are angry, and then some are just quietly rearranging their business to cope with the changes. It will be interesting to see where it goes from here.
As for the rest of the country and the world: thirty states have some form of restriction on indoor tanning. Texas has an indoor tanning ban for anyone under 16. New York, Illinois, Ohio and Rhode Island have bans close to the strictness of California’s. As for the rest of the world, several European countries, including England and France, have banned tanning beds and booths for anyone under 18, just like California. Brazil has actually outlawed indoor tanning completely. And then in certain cosmopolitan areas in China such as Hong Kong, tanning is becoming more popular, but we aren’t sure what the restrictions are yet. It is still sort of a mixed bag.
Hopefully the tanning industry pulls through. Many businesses are adjusting their marketing strategies and pursuing other means to keep their business going, including offering other services such as spray tanning and red light therapy. Time will tell!
Yep, that’s right, Canadian tanning salon owners are battling business regulations too. This time in Victoria, British Colombia. The news article linked features comments from parents that are concerned that the new tanning age regulations being proposed are violating their right to choose for their children. Whether you agree with the argument or not, the article is definitely worth a read.
In other news, tanning salons are catching on in – you’d never guess – China! The article discusses some very interesting cultural views and how those views are changing in large cosmopolitan centers such as Hong Kong and Shanghai, where the tanning salons are becoming more popular.
Apparently, lighter skin is more highly valued among the more traditional sector of Chinese culture, to the extent that people will even pay for skin whitening products. But now those attitudes are changing, especially with younger members of the culture, where people want to try different looks and lifestyles. There are definitely a lot of interesting developments going on around the world!
The 2011 Smart Tan Downtown indoor tanning industry convention is coming up next month! The convention is going to be held in Nashville, Tennessee again from October 14th to the 16th. Always an exciting event, this year’s Smart Tan convention is going to have all sorts of useful seminars such as on benefits of vitamin D and UV light, political and grassroots advocacy, business advice, marketing tactics, growing profits, science of sunlight, redlight therapy, spray tanning, International Tanning Association activities, and more.
There’s definitely going to be alot of information and tools available to help grow your business and be successful. There will definitely be plenty of great social opportunities as well with music and conferences and gatherings and all that.
Definitely a great place to be if you want to see where the industry is going and find connections and figure out what direction to take your business next. We highly recommend it.
Here is a link to the event and a schedule if you are interested!
And while we are on the subject on Smart Tan, here are a few links to some good articles on their site.
Here is an article about sun light and another one about vitamin D. Enjoy!
A recent study out of Sweden has noted that women who spent a moderate amount of time tanning in the sun or in a tanning bed had less of a chance getting breast cancer or other various internal cancers.
The study, as explained here, consisted of research in which almost 50,000 Swedish women were followed for 15 years. The researchers focused on women aged 30 to 49 and found that among those who got moderate UV exposure within the span of 10 to 29 years saw a 50% decreased chance of breast cancer and 30% decreased chance of other internal cancers.
These findings agree with other findings in other countries that showed that UV exposure lowered incidences of various cancers, and many researchers suggest that this is due to the fact that UV rays are a good source of vitamin D, and that vitamin D itself could be responsible for this increased resistance to disease.
Definitely encouraging news!
A story recently posted in Smart Tan talks about the latest findings having to do with the relationship between vitamin D and certain cancers such as melanoma.
The story mentions that The American Academy of Dermatology itself has acknowledged that vitamin D could be protective against certain cancers, including melanoma, in some instances.
It is reported that The American Academy of Dermatology conducted a study in which a group of postmenopausal women with higher vitamin D and calcium levels in their blood had a 50% lower chance of melanoma incidence.
Good news for sure! Looks like more and more scientific organizations are finding positive results in their studies of vitamin D.
On a somewhat related note, TanningTruth.com has gotten a new look along with more information on the benefits of tanning. If you haven’t heard of Tanning Truth, it is a website that specializes in the debunking of the sun scare message and the encouragement of safe, responsible tanning. This is a great resource to send tanning customers to if they are interested in the risks and benefits of tanning on a more detailed level.
