No, Health Minister Dustin Duncan doesn’t tan.

Nor does he have any legislation in the pipeline to ban people under 18 from using tanning beds, despite the rest of Canada moving in this direction.

Legislation was introduced Monday in Alberta that would prohibit anyone under 18 from using the beds, which bathe people in ultraviolet rays.

The UV rays increase young people’s risk of developing skin cancers later in life, including potentially deadly melanoma.

The proposed law would also ban advertising about artificial tanning directed at minors and prohibit selfservice tanning equipment in public places.

If Alberta’s proposed legislation passes, Saskatchewan will be the only Canadian province that does not restrict youth access to tanning equipment.

Donna Pasiechnik, a spokeswoman for the Canadian Cancer Society in Saskatchewan, said the province’s position doesn’t make sense.

“We don’t understand what their reluctance is,” she said.

The tanning ban isn’t off the radar, exactly. The Saskatchewan government has “discussions on an ongoing basis about these and other issues we see across the country,” Duncan said – but the government has yet to figure out in which direction it would like to head. Although Duncan acknowledged that, “on the face of it, it seems … fairly cut-and-dry in terms of what government could do,” he said laws across Canada and the world are “a patchwork.”

He said the government will assess where, if anywhere, it wants to go with tanning laws.

“Part of what we’ve done on tanning issues is look at other jurisdictions and their bans … so I think it’s fair to say Alberta’s announcement (Monday) is one of those points where we’ll look at the decision and have a discussion on that.”

Sarah Hawkins of the Canadian Cancer Society said melanoma is one of the fastest-growing preventable cancers, and research indicates that using indoor tanning equipment during youth increases the risk by nearly 60 per cent.

“Too many Alberta teens are put at a significantly higher risk of developing melanoma – the deadliest form of skin cancer – by using indoor tanning equipment,” Hawkins said.

Alberta’s tanning-ban bill is expected to pass this spring.