Idaho turns down law banning teens using tanning beds

Rep. John Rusche, the Lewiston Democrat sponsoring the legislation, said he will be back with the bill next year in attempt to lessen the number of cases of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, in the state.

"The calculations show that with the reduction of tanning with children and adolescents, we can save from five to seven Idahoans from deaths each year from melanoma," Dr Rusche, a paediatrician, told Reuters on Thursday.

"There aren't many efforts we make that can protect that many lives," he said.

Exposure to ultraviolet radiation, either from the sun or through tanning beds or sun lamps, increases the risk of developing skin cancer, for which rates are rising, according to the National Cancer Institute.

Source: Reuters