Enacting legislation to restrict youth access to tanning beds: A survey of advocates and sponsoring legislators

BackgroundPassing tanning bed legislation restricting underage use has remained challenging.ObjectiveWe sought to determine the resources required to pass tanning bed legislation restricting use to children and identify key barriers to its passage.MethodsA total of 15 states sought to pass tanning bed legislation in 2006; in-depth surveys were completed with advocates in 10 states and legislators in 5 states.ResultsAdvocates sought advice from the sponsoring legislator or legislators (n = 9), held discussions with other organizations (n = 8), and used a lobbyist (n = 5). The 3 major barriers were strong lobbying efforts by the tanning bed industry (n = 10), proceedings after the bill was filed (n = 5), and obtaining support from other organizations (n = 4). For legislators, the most significant barrier was making colleagues aware of the health effects of tanning bed use.LimitationsFive of 10 legislators and 10 of 15 advocates responded to the survey.ConclusionBarriers to passage of tanning bed legislation can potentially be surmounted with advice to advocates and coordinated efforts by multiple organizations.