A Senate bill would prohibit anyone under 18 from using tanning beds.
Current state law says children younger than 14 are prohibited and all other minors need parental consent.
The bill's author Ted Leiu says limiting ultraviolet radiation in young people helps prevent skin cancer later in life.
Senator Lieu: The damage that you have is cumulative, the
more exposure you have to tanning beds early in life, the worse it
will be for you later in life.
Experts say skin cancer is on the rise, and California has the
highest number of new melanoma cases in the country.
Dr. Sima Torabian is a dermatologist at Kaiser
Permanente.
Dr. Torabian: On average in America, about a million people use tanning beds. 71% of those patients are between 16 and 29 years old.
Several other states are considering similar bans.