Sun tan op-ed in the Sun

H.L. Mencken would roll in his grave if he could see the Baltimore Sun today. The Sun had an absurd opinion piece on the new tanning regulation proposed by HoCo guvmint. Get a load of this bit:

Allowing teens to submit to UV radiation on a parent's say-so is tantamount to letting them buy and smoke a carton of cigarettes if mom or dad says that's fine, too. The harmful effects of a known carcinogen are too great to permit such a loophole.

Really? Allowing parents to raise their children in the manner in which they see fit is a "loophole"?

The reality is that teens are not spam in a can. They are not commodities. Maybe some teens would only be more attracted to cigarettes if their parents forbid smoking. It should be up to parents, and not arrogant guvmint officials like Peter Bielenson and Ken Ulman to raise children. However, this regulation is not about smoking, it is about tanning. It is very disingenuous for the Baltimore Sun to equate addictive cigarettes with non-addictive tanning beds.

The fact is that tanning is NOT a public health issue. Skin Cancer is not spread like the swine flu, and minors and their parents should be able to measure the costs and benefits of tanning themselves. This regulation is nothing more than a power grab by the Health Department.

Peter Bielenson and Ken Ulman remind me of the balloon boy's father in that they will do anything to get their names in the newspaper or market themselves on the national stage.