Is tanning bad for teens?

• Reprints

Updated: August 4, 2011 4:20PM

Prom season and graduation are just around the corner. To Shearin Schiavone, the owner of Heat Waves tanning salon in Frankfort Square, that means business is about to pick up, with teenagers suddenly popping in regularly.

“They come for special occasions, to get a little color for their party dresses,” Schiavone said.

But business as usual might be changing — drastically. Illinois lawmakers are considering a bill barring anyone under 18 from indoor tanning, even with parental permission.

It’s a burning issue, to hear local salon owners and teens tell it.

“That would suck,” said Hana Gawelczyk, 16, of Frankfort, who said she tans at Heat Waves once or twice a week because it keeps her skin clear and she gets tan.

Salon owners not happy

The American Academy of Pediatrics wants teenagers banned from tanning salons to reduce their risk of skin cancer, according to a policy statement that appeared Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

More than 30 states already regulate indoor tanning by minors. A hearing on the Illinois bill, sponsored by state Rep. Robyn Gabel (D-Evanston), is scheduled for today before the House Human Services Committee.

“They are making a really big mistake. I don’t know why they are doing this,” Schiavone said. “They need to focus on bigger issues.”

Tanning salon owners argue that using tanning beds is not harmful, that the state health department monitors them and that they teach customers how to tan safely.

They also say the ban would be another big blow to business, on top of a 10 percent federal tax imposed on them in July to help finance health-care reform.

Nick Patel, founder and CEO of L.A. Tan, which has a location in Orland Park, said only 8 percent of the population tans, and of that, 15 percent to 20 percent are teens. Decreasing their customer base and driving salons out of business would “create havoc” in the current economic climate, he said.

“How are we going to survive?” Patel said. “By passing this law, we are taking away parents’ rights over their kids.”