CALGARY- A Grade 8 student has her sights set on the Legislature, in light of her success at a local science fair.
13-year-old Cassie Barrow brought home the silver medal at the Calgary Youth Science Fair, for her project on the effects of indoor tanning.
She’s now working with the ‘Indoor Tanning is Out’ coalition, made up of provincial doctors and national health agencies. The teen is petitioning her peers, and calling on the province to ban indoor tanning for those under age 18.
Barrow says those she approaches are surprised by how dangerous indoor tanning can be, saying, ‘Wow, I can’t believe this, how come our government isn’t doing anything to protect us?’
“A lot of them didn’t know about this until I brought it up in random conversations.”
Evie Eshpeter knows all too well the damage indoor tanning can do.
“I reached high school, and tanning was in and I started using a number of artificial tanning beds for a number of years,” she explains. “Unfortunately I was diagnosed with skin cancer in November, and will have to worry about that.”
Seven provinces currently ban or restrict the use of tanning beds for young people. Alberta currently has one of the highest rates of indoor tanning in the country
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