REGINA – Although some Saskatchewan students have encouraged each other to go sans tan for graduation in the past, Bert Fox High School in Fort Qu’Appelle has become the first in the province to officially adopt the Canadian Cancer Society’s tan-free grad challenge.
“There’s a lot of temptation for students to want to tan before graduation. Some people see it as a rite of passage,” said Brett Estey with the Canadian Cancer Society.
“I hope that everyone has an open mind to not tan for grad. Whether you tan or not, it’s your choice but as long as you pay attention to the info,” said grade 12 student Darby Janz.
All provinces, except for Saskatchewan, Alberta and Manitoba, ban young people from using indoor tanning beds.
Last week, the provincial government ruled out introducing a ban, which was disappointing news for the Canadian Cancer Society.
“This is something that people want and we’re kind of uncomfortable with the fact the government quickly turned a blind eye,” said Estey.
Some salons in Saskatchewan follow standards put out by the Joint Canadian Tanning Association (JCTA), which asks for parental consent for people under-18.
JCTA Executive Director, Steven Gilroy, says tanning can be safe if proper procedures are followed.
“We don’t ban somebody driving a car but the risks are high as well,” said Gilroy. “The only reason the risks go down is because you have a trained person operation the equipment.”
According to JCTA, teen tanning amounts to only about five per cent of business.