Minors will not be allowed to use tanning beds in the state of Delaware.
Governor Jack Markell signed the legislation into law yesterday.
Previously those who were between the ages of 14 to 18 could use the beds with parental consent.
Dr. Karyl Rattay, head of the state Division of Public Health, said it was a matter of preventing skin cancer.
The measure passed with a near unanimous vote in the state legislature.
WBOC reports that some tanning salons said they thought the measure was an overreaction, noting that parents take their children to the beach which can be worse than a tanning bed.
Dr. Rattay said that the First State’s per capita rate of melanoma is above the national average.
It is particularly high in Sussex County.
