North Vancouver students going tan-free for grad
Posted April 2, 2012 4:04 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
NORTH VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – A province wide ban on teens and tanning doesn’t take effect until the fall, but a high school in North Vancouver is aiming to get an early start and go tan-free for grad.
Grade 12 student Rachael Bell-Irving hopes the majority of her 2012 grad class at Handsworth Secondary will learn the risks of tanning and sign a pledge.
So far they’re on target for about 70 per cent.
“It’s been going really well and really fast,” she says. “We’ve been getting a lot of pledges really quickly and people seem really supportive of it so we’re happy to see that.”
“The main focus is to promote safe health and no tanning,” she adds. “And to make sure students know how dangerous tanning can be.”
And there is another message, that is often forgotten at their age. “Well for me personally, it was the social image and promoting natural beauty. Natural beauty is a really important thing,” Bell-Irving says.
Behind the teens’ efforts is the Canadian Cancer Society, which says research shows the risk of getting certain types of skin cancer increases 75 per cent when tanning beds are used.
Starting this fall you’ll have to be 18 or older.
