canadian dermitologist association

[lizard25]

Well their new campaign has come out. Indoor Tanning is Out. Has anyone been on their site to check things out.
I just got done reading through it and I for one am getting tired of our industry getting hammered on all the so called negative effects of tanning. Why are we putting money into Smart Tan and the Joint Canadian Tanning Association and they do nothing for us. When are we as an industry going to fight back. We are going to sit back and take punch after punch and watch salons close up shop left right and center. I am tired of this money grab from these associations and them not doing anything. Time to step up and and be useful.
Maybe all owners should get together and create an owners associations that actually care about the survival of the industry. I am sorry to be venting but I am tired of watching my money go to them and get pretty much nothing in return. Education and posters. Posters are going to help keep my salon alive.

[crovine1]

I have heard rumors of a Canada, American Association that will do just that!!!

[agk453]

Originally Posted by lizard25

Well their new campaign has come out. Indoor Tanning is Out. Has anyone been on their site to check things out.
I just got done reading through it and I for one am getting tired of our industry getting hammered on all the so called negative effects of tanning. Why are we putting money into Smart Tan and the Joint Canadian Tanning Association and they do nothing for us. When are we as an industry going to fight back. We are going to sit back and take punch after punch and watch salons close up shop left right and center. I am tired of this money grab from these associations and them not doing anything. Time to step up and and be useful.
Maybe all owners should get together and create an owners associations that actually care about the survival of the industry. I am sorry to be venting but I am tired of watching my money go to them and get pretty much nothing in return. Education and posters. Posters are going to help keep my salon alive.

This should strike a familiar note to American salons ... you can't get blood from a stone. JCTA cannot "step up" when they have no money to work with. WE need to step up and help finance this group (anyone who has seen Steve Gilroy or Doug McNabb speak knows that we have excellent representation, they just need some financial help to get things done. Just like the ITA. From what I've seen from there web site, approximately 300 salons out of three THOUSAND have signed up. At $200 a pop, that's $60 grand - add in some higher-level memberships and MAYBE we got 250K - not a whole lot of money to be fighting a well-organized and well-financed opposition. So sign up (again), take advantage of their insurance deal (I saved serious coin by joining JCTA and SmartTan to get good, low-cost insurance) and get other salons to join as well. This group is the best one to fight on our behalf, it's important to get behind them. I've seen them at work - there is nobody better. Support them or die a slow death, like what's starting to happen in the US.

[agk453]

Statement from the Joint Canadian Tanning Association:

Check facts CDA before scaring Canadians about indoor tanning

KELOWNA, BC, Feb. 2 /CNW/ - The Joint Canadian Tanning Association (JCTA) strongly disputes the damaging allegations made yesterday by the Canadian Dermatology Association (CDA) about indoor tanning.
There is no data to suggest that tanning is more dangerous for any specific age group. Photobiology and epidemiology - if analyzed correctly - all suggest that burning (not tanning) at an early age could increase risk later in life.

Fact No. 1
Indoor tanning is the most controlled way to create a tan and generate valuable vitamin D levels. Nothing in this world is safe, if done in excess. Fair-skinned or Skin Type I people should not use a tanning salon. JCTA salons do not allow Skin Type I people to tan.

Fact No. 2
Melanoma rates have been dropping among men and women ages 15-29 in Canada since 2003, according to the Canadian Cancer Statistics 2009 (page 88). Cancer Care Ontario and the BC Cancer Agency, report incidences of malignant melanoma are actually dropping among women under 44 in those provinces. The Canadian Dermatology Association non-melanoma skin cancer rates are only estimates and that's why they are not used in any of the Canadian Cancer Statistics 2009 charts. Who makes up these estimates?

Fact No. 3
The Canadian Dermatology Association receives significant funding from the sunscreen industry to communicate an anti-sun message at a time when even the Canadian Cancer Society is advocating brief daily exposure to sun. Creating an unnecessary fear of UV light increases the sale of sunscreen as well as increased visits to dermatologists and thus increased health care costs.

"It's apparent the CDA doesn't want the facts to get in the way of a sensational story. Indoor tanning is the most controlled way to get a tan. We support responsible UV light exposure because we know the majority of vitamin D production in our bodies occurs through the skins exposure to Ultraviolet B. We don't advocate sunburning or tanning for fair-skinned Skin Type I people," says JCTA President Doug McNabb .

"Canada's indoor tanning industry welcomes every opportunity to discuss any concerns about its business practices. However, it's extremely regrettable that after years of trying to meet with the CDA, it has ignored every attempt to openly discuss its issues with the industry," added JCTA Executive Director Steve Gilroy .

Because the JCTA favours constructive solutions that are in the best interest of public health, the professional indoor tanning community supports the parental consent for anyone under 16 who wish to tan in salons. We support constructive efforts to bolster enforcement of this standard.

[agk453]

And ... JCTA is publicly responding, and I would say in a responsible manner. This is from CTV's website:
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNew...207?hub=Health

Tanning bill not based on reliable science: industry

TORONTO — Tanning salon operators say proposed federal legislation that would warn consumers of the cancer risks of tanning is political grandstanding and are instead calling on the provinces to help regulate operating standards in the industry.

The Joint Canadian Tanning Association also denies there is any scientific evidence to show tanning beds cause melanoma or skin cancer.

"We don't think the science even comes anywhere near supporting such a notion," said association president Doug McNabb.

"We think it's a little grandstanding politically."

McNabb was referring to a proposed private member's bill that Conservative MP James Bezan says he will introduce in the House of Commons in March.

"I'm strictly talking about a consumer awareness campaign of labelling the risks so that those who are using a tanning salon, especially those under 18, are aware that their risks to a carcinogenic exposure are greatly escalated when they are in an artificial tanning system," said Bezan.

The proposed bill would require radiation warning labels on tanning beds that draw a clear link between ultraviolet rays and skin cancer. It would also ensure the labels would be larger and placed where the user can clearly see them.

The International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, says anyone who begins using tanning devices before the age of 30 increases their risk of cancer by 75 per cent.

"Any tanning increases your risk of cancer," said Aaron Levo, director of public issues for the Canadian Cancer Society, "including tanning beds."

The Canadian Cancer Society and the World Health Organization would go further than the bill, banning those under 18 from using tanning beds altogether.

The tanning association would prefer a less stringent rule - that parents of those under 16 would have to come to the salon and sign an approval form.

"Banning minors from professional salons will only make the problem of overexposure worse," said McNabb.

Nothing will stop teenagers from getting a tan, and they are better off tanning in a salon with professionals overseeing them than in the backyard unsupervised or using inexpensive, unregulated tanning units at home, he said.

McNabb estimates about two to three per cent of salon clients are under 18 and less than half a per cent are under 16.

Health Canada regulates standards for the manufacture of indoor tanning equipment and provides operating guidelines for tanning salons in Canada, the association notes.

While the industry would like to remain self-governing when it comes to how the equipment is used, if regulations are coming it would like to be a part of the process of developing them.

In addition to having parents of children under 16 sign approval forms the industry is proposing operator training standards, including skin typing and exposure procedures, and facility requirements that include "remote timing" controls which allow only certified operators to set exposure times.

The association says professional salons already impose such standards voluntarily.

Last year, the WHO elevated tanning devices to its highest risk category and called them "carcinogenic to humans."

"It is known that young people who get burnt from exposure to UV will have a greater risk of developing melanoma later in life, and recent studies demonstrate the direct link between the use of sunbeds and cancer," reads a statement on the WHO's website.

But the tanning association says skin type rather than age that is the most important factor in determining whether tanning is harmful. It does not recommend that those with fair skin use tanning beds, regardless of age.

The Canadian Cancer Society would also like to see all of the tanning industry regulated, as well as requiring a licence for UV-emitting equipment and for all staff who work with it.

Bezan was inspired to propose the bill after his wife, who he describes as a "sunworshipper", was diagnosed with melanoma twice. He says she used both natural sunlight and tanning beds.

"I'd like to see people avoid those circumstances that we've gone through as a family," he said.

He's hoping all three parties will support the bill.

The Canadian Cancer Society expected that 5,000 Canadians would be diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer in 2009, and 940 would die.