North Carolina Bill Would Ban Indoor Tanning for Minors

Take parents out of decision making process

This week's "Bad Bill of the Week" is HB 18. Known as the Youth Skin Cancer Prevention Act,  HB 18 would ban all North Carolinians under the age of 18 from indoor tanning. Though similar legislation has been tried before, this incarnation of the bill is sponsored by Representatives Mark Hollo (R-Alexander), Jim Fulghum M.D. (R-Wake), D. Craig Horn (R-Union), and Tom Murry (R-Wake).

The bill gets tricky because its stated goal is understandable. After all, North Carolinians should be concerned about the health of the state's younger generations and whether they will get skin cancer. However, HB 18 goes awry when it cuts the parents out of the overall decision-making process.