Get involved! No Tan Is Worth Dying For is an advocacy campaign designed to increase public awareness about the risks associated with tanning bed use.  Help us convince the Government of Ontario to protect children and youth from the harmful effects of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) by restricting access to tanning beds before the age of 18 years of age.

Sign the Petition Today!
The Peterborough County-City Health Unit encourages you to sign an online petition to support a ban on artificial tanning for those under 18.  All these signatures will be presented to MPP Jeff Leal in the hopes he will vote in support of Ontario’s Bill 83.

Click here to sign our petition....

Watch these videos to learn more about the risks of tanning:

How it Causes Cancer:



Risks of Artificial Tanning:



Risks of Tanning for Teens



How it Ages Your Skin





What’s wrong with tanning beds?

• Ultraviolet radiation (UVR), such as that emitted from artificial tanning equipment, is a known human carcinogen.
• Tanning can cause melanoma, the second leading cause of cancer in Ontario youth aged 15 to 34 yrs.
• Exposure to UVR before the age of 18 is especially damaging and can increase a person’s risk of developing skin cancer both early and later in life.
• Some tanning beds expose you to five times the amount of radiation as the sun.
• Overexposure to tanning beds can lead to :
• Non-melanoma and melanoma skin cancer
• Eye conditions such as photokeratitis, photo conjunctivitis and even cataracts
• Premature aging, wrinkles, dry leathery skin
• Weakened immune system to fight off infections

Who is at risk?

• Even one tanning session can significantly increase your chance of developing skin cancer, especially if exposure happens before the age of 30. Young adults aged 15-34 are most vulnerable to melanoma.
• People with fair skin, light eyes, blond or red hair, freckles, lots of moles and/or history of sunburns should not tan because they are at the highest risk of developing skin cancer

What’s being done?

• In 2009 the World Health Organization (WHO) placed tanning beds into the same group of known human carcinogens such as tobacco, arsenic and mustard gas.
• WHO introduced new recommendations to have tanning bed use banned for individuals under the age of 18, proper regulation of tanning facilities, and accurate identification of risks visible to customers.