The following is a statement from Kimberly Hughes, Mississippi government relations director at American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), on the Senate’s passage of a bill that will protect anyone 17-year-olds and younger from cancer-causing indoor tanning devices:
"As an organization whose goal is to eliminate cancer as a major health problem, we are very pleased the Mississippi Senate recognized the need to pass a bill to protect anyone 17-years-old and younger from getting skin cancer by using a tanning bed.
“This is the fourth-year volunteers from across the state are working on this legislation alongside dermatologists, former tanners who have gotten skin cancer, the health department, and many others. We are grateful that lawmakers agreed for the need to protect our state’s youth.
“We praise legislators for passing the bill without changes to protect our state’s youth from machines that, when used as intended, increase the risk of getting melanoma, the most deadly type of skin cancer. We thank members of Senate for showing they care about the health of Mississippi’s children and urge the House to pass this bill.”
About the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.acscan.org.
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