Media Releases

Tanning Association does the Responsible Thing and Warns Government Self-serve Tanning Facilities on the rise. (Kelowna Oct 31st 2012) The Joint Canadian Tanning Association (JCTA) has for years been trying to convince government across Canada to ban self-serve (coin-op, slide card, client controlled) tanning facilities. The JCTA believes that tanning facilities should be controlled by a trained and certified operator and should not be left up to the client to control.

“Tanning needs to be controlled by someone that is knowledgeable in the administering of UV light.” said Steven Gilroy executive director of the JCTA. Self-serve Tanning Franchises out of the US are now popping up across Canada. “We need the help of the government to stop this in its tracks. The JCTA is proud that they have helped stop self-serve from getting a foot hold in the Canadian market place. Over 95% of the Canadian industry have employee on staff to help make indoor sunbathing safer for all ages.” said Gilroy The JCTA in various hearings and meetings in the province of B.C. including the Vancouver Island Health Authority (VIHA), which Dr Stanwick is the Chief Medical Officer, brought this concern to the forefront and it was ignored. No employee will mean no I.D. verification and increase teen tanning going against the framework outlined in the teen tanning regulation. Allowing these businesses to exist will produce the same result as home units, INCREASED RISK not only of the teens but all Canadians The JCTA in meetings in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland Labrador warned governments and asked specifically for a ban on self-serve tanning as part of Professional Standards that would protect indoor sunbathers of all ages. Not one has included this in legislation, except the Peel Region (Mississauga) in Ontario. We applaud the Peel Region for being the first in Canada. The JCTA’s stance is that if nothing is done to ban these facilities, Canada will follow in suite with the UK, in the last 5 years, 50% of the industry has gone to self-serve tanning facilities. We hope provincial governments will follow what Sweden (99% of all facilities are self-serve) is moving forward with, legislation that will prohibit self-serve tanning facilities, which will put the controls back into the hands of a trained and industry certified operator. The JCTA strongly opposes self-serve tanning and believe government should move to Professional Standards, which include – ban self-serve tanning equipment; -parental consent; -mandatory protective eyewear; -skin typing every client correctly; -operator training and certification; -equipment controlled by certified operators -banning customers that are Skin Type 1 (always burn, never tan) “Tanning equipment is not the problem, it’s the person controlling the equipment that is the problem”, said Gilroy. Contact:| Steven Gilroy 1-800-915-0367 ext. 1 M: 250-863-8765 E: info@TanCanada.org