News
Letter in Omaha World Herald: Know the skin cancer threat
March 22, 2018
The following letter was published in the Omaha World Herald on February 12, 2018
Skin cancer is the most common form of all cancers in the United States and one that, despite repeated education efforts about the dangers of the sun and indoor tanning devices, continues to take the lives of too many loved ones.
Nebraska lawmakers recently introduced a bill that would keep our teens out of tanning beds and help keep parents in control of their kids’ health. The pressure for teens, especially young girls, to look tan and glamorous is tremendous. Peer pressure often means teens are willing to risk their long-term health for a short-term goal like looking “bronzed” for prom or for spring break. This needs to stop.
Parents need to make clear to their teens that tanning isn’t OK no matter the occasion, and parents need the state to back them up and make underage tanning illegal.
It matters to me because there are people in my life who used tanning beds and have had skin cancer. I know what these young people face if their actions today become cancer in the years to come.
Nebraska should help protect our kids and keep them tan-free.