The Lehigh Valley's Charlie Dent, a Republican in the House, and Manhattan's Carolyn Maloney, his Democratic counterpart, are taking aim at Melanoma, the most deadly form of skin cancer, by proposing new legislation to tighten federal standards on tanning beds. Before you dismiss this as silly stuff, you should know that people who use them increase their risk of getting this fatal disease by 74 per cent. “Although Melanoma is often preventable, American families continue to lose loved ones to this destructive form of skin cancer,” said Rep. Dent in a news release. “While many Americans are aware of the dangers associated with Melanoma and take precautionary steps to prevent developing the disease, we must continue to educate the public about risks associated with too much exposure to UV light, especially from tanning beds. Our legislation ensures tanning bed standards are updated to minimize risk, and labels are positioned and worded to send a clear and prominent message about the real dangers associated with tanning.”
“Americans are aware of the dangers of smoking before they light up. It’s important they also know the risk of developing melanoma before they lie down,” Rep. Dent continued.
“Tanning beds are where cigarettes were in the 1950s: everyone knows they’re cancer-causing, and yet they are poorly regulated,” said Rep. Maloney. “Every year, almost 70,000 new cases of skin cancer are diagnosed, and 8,700 Americans die of the disease. Since the World Health Organization has reclassified tanning devices as ‘carcinogenic to humans,’ it’s time for the FDA to reexamine its classification of the devices—and that’s what this bill requires—because doing so will help save lives.”
The World Health Organization classifies UV-emitting tanning devices right up there with tobacco, asbestos and uranium as a definite cause of cancer.
9 comments:
Bernie
What's going on in this photo? Is this a medical skin cancer treatment or what?
Bernie, I don't know where Dent got the 8700 death number, but let's assume it is correct. this is a minor issue and, to use your word, comes off as silly. Especially when we have more serious things to deal with on the national level like the debt ceiling and the 2012 budget.
And guns cause a lot more deaths each year than tanning beds. So, where is the legislation to increase regulation on firearms from Rep. Dent? Maybe a limit on assault rifles or extended clips? Well, we cannot do that, people have a right to "freedom" to bear arms, but not get a tan in a tanning bed. Which, FYI, it is safe to tan in a tanning bed than it is to sit out on the beach, due to the regulated nature of the rays in the tanning bed (please note, I do not use a tanning bed myself).
Here are some fun facts from the CDC (all data is for 2007)on causes of death in America:
Traffic related deaths: 42,031
Death by poisoning: 29,846
Death by falling: 22,631
Suicide by Firearm: 17,352
Homicides: 12,632
Publius
"What's going on in this photo? Is this a medical skin cancer treatment or what?"
It's a tanning bed.
Then put a sticker on the front and let the self-absorbed freaks who simply must have a tan in February tan at their own risk.
Seriously, not surprising to see more activity without accomplishment from the elbow rubbing empty suit Charlie Dent.
We expect Charlie's regulations will exempt from liability any damage caused to an unborn child. Cause mommy has a right to tan, you know.
Bernie -
This is by no means a federal issue, and (as a previous poster mentioned) there are more important issues to deal with at that level (although that poster's attack on guns was misguided).
This is exactly what our representatives in congress should be doing.
We put our leaders in office so that they can look at all the issues, even the small potatoes like this. You can't only focus on the big things.
Sure, there are a lot of bigger concerns out there, and that's probably what these representatives spend most of their day on. But agree or disagree with the result of their research, they should certainly spend a few minutes on minor issues like these.
It's what we should expect of our reps. Government is not All-Budget All-the-time.
Charlie says; lets dump Medicare, screw grannie. But hey Snooki, better not tan.
Gee Charlie, what a guy!
I applaud Dent's efforts on this. While the mortality rate is low right now, the number of cases diagnosed each year is on the rise. Melanoma can not only kill, but it can also leave a sufferer disfigured. Melanoma costs the system...which costs you and I.
Anon 1:30 -
Sorry, but this is NOT what our federal representatives should be doing.
In addition to a "horizontal" separation of powers between the branches of the federal government, our founders created a "vertical" separation of powers. They did this by delegating very specific powers to the federal government and leaving the rest to the states (or local governments).
It is because of the federal government "dealing" with thousands of (perhaps) well-intentioned issues like this that the issues that belong to the federal government (such as a balanced budget) don't get solved.
In many cases, these issues are used to make voters feel as though their representatives are doing something productive, while distracting voters from the fact that the legitimate federal issues that they should be working on remain unresolved.
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