Grad dress: check. New shoes and purse: check. Hair appointment booked: check. Perfect tan: not so fast.
If a group of young volunteers around the province has anything to do with it, the 2012 graduating class will think twice before tanning for grad - or any time at all.
Olina Chang, currently a UBC engineering student and a former Burnaby North student, is a volunteer with the Tan Free Grad program, part of the Tanning is Out campaign being run by the Canadian Cancer Society in B.C.
She and fellow former North student Imaan Hajee have been visiting the school to help spread the word about the dangers of tanning - and to get students at the school to pledge to go tan-free for grad.
Chang says it can be a tough message to spread because of the prevalence of the idea that a tan is attractive and looks healthy.
"Tanning is just not good for you, indoor or outdoor," Chang told the NOW during a break from classes at UBC. "Melanoma is one of the most common forms of skin cancer for people between the ages of 15 and 29.
"People are constantly telling you that a healthy tan or a healthy glow is a good thing, but if your skin is changing colours it means it's being damaged."
Chang says the program is doing well at Burnaby North, with students there encouraging others to sign the pledge and learn more about tanning.
"There's a lot of wrong information out there - and even people who do know will say 'I'm only going to do it for prom,'" she said. "We want to get the message out that you want to own your skin tone, whatever it is."
Part of the campaign looks at indoor tanning, which many people feel is safer and more controlled than outdoor tanning.
According to the Canadian Cancer Society, there is no safe way to get a tan - even indoor. Research from the International Agency for Research on Cancer has definitively linked tanning beds to skin cancer - use of indoor tanning equipment before the age of 35 has been found to increase the risk of melanoma by 75 per cent.
The cancer society, and the Tanning is Out campaign, had been urging the province to prohibit the use of indoor tanning for those under the age of 18.
A few days after Chang talked to the NOW, the Ministry of Health announced they'll be doing just that with new legislation likely to take effect in the fall of this year.
Health Minister Mike de Jong said the move is intended to reduce the number of skin cancer cases later in life.
"Unfortunately, cancer affects thousands of British Columbian families with one in three people expected to develop some form of cancer - such as skin cancer like melanoma - in their lifetime," he said. "After a great deal of consideration of clinical evidence, commissioning a report to provide options and listening to what local governments had to say at the Union of B.C. Municipalities Convention last year, government has decided to restrict access to tanning beds for young people under the age of 18."
The legislation won't be in effect in time for this year's grad class, but Tan Free Grad volunteers are hoping the move will reinforce their message for current Grade 12 students.
The Tanning Is Out campaign can be found on Facebook. For more information, see www. cancergameplan.ca.
