MONTREAL - The sun did not shine on the tanning bed industry Monday at a provincial health committee in Quebec City.
The Canadian Cancer Society lobbied the government with a four-pronged plan to impose limits and restrictions on tanning beds in Quebec, where skin cancer has been particularly high.
Tanning beds have been shown in studies to increase skin cancer rates by 75 percent among those under 35.
The group aims to make the salons 18-and-over, banning all minors from exposure to the special tanning lights.
They seek the creation of a provincial registry to allow the province to maintain a closer track on such outlets.
Their third demand is to impose a 10 percent tax on tanning beds, as is currently practiced in the U.S.
And finally, the Cancer Society seeks to limit the forms of advertising that tanning salons are permitted to employ to lure people in.
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, the ads are sometimes misleading.
"They aggressively target youth and sometimes send out misleading messages concerning the health benefits that are linked to the use of tanning sessions and there are no health benefits," said representative Melanie Champagne.
The group also deposited a 60,000 signature petition siding with their plans, plus statements from 65 groups that also endorse the restrictions.
Melanoma -- the deadliest form of skin cancer -- has doubled in Quebec over the past 15 years and could double again in the next 15, if nothing is done.
Among the experts who concur with the brief is Dr. Joel Claveau of the Association of Dermatologists who called the situation, "extremely serious." The problem is so grave that he believes the banning booths should be banned outright.
An estimated 250,000 Quebecers under the age of 30 visited tanning salons last year, at a rate of once per month on average, according to the CCS.
They estimate that three quarters of cases of melanoma diagnosed in those aged 18 to 29 stem from the use of tanning beds. They state that UV tanning rays are five to 15 times stronger than the midday sun.
Each year there are 22,000 newly-diagnosed cases of skin cancer in Quebec.
In Canada, youth under 19 are prohibited from using tanning beds in Nova Scotia and under 18 in Victoria.
Minors are banned from tanning salons in Australia and some parts of Europe and the United States.
With files from The Canadian Press
