Previously published on May 21, 2015, at http://www.disruptivewomen.net/2015/05/21/birth-of-the-pull-the-plug-on-tanning-beds/
Eight years ago, my
daughter Jaime died from melanoma, which the doctors believed was from her use
of tanning beds in high school and college. She was diagnosed when she was 20 and fought
the evil beast of a disease until her death at 29.
My Jaime's story gave me the
passion and conviction to become "the indoor tanning industry's worst
nightmare." The day after Jaime's funeral I began going after the indoor
tanning industry and their lies and deception. I drew their wrath by commenting
on magazine and newspaper articles on the internet about the dangers of tanning
beds (see http://www.vice.com/read/i-was-paid-to-go-undercover-for-the-tanning-industry-122). Social media was in its infancy; Facebook and Twitter had not yet been
born.
I also contacted my state
legislators about writing a bill to ban teens from using tanning beds but I was
ignored, and it would take several years before the Texas legislature would
have such a bill introduced and passed ... but it did. Two of them in fact. The
first one was weak, but the one that followed was a full under 18 ban, and I
testified with Jaime's story for both of these laws.
As Facebook grew and melanoma
patients found each other, many groups were formed. There were groups for skin
cancer or melanoma in general, groups for survivors, groups for support, groups
for mothers of melanoma patients, groups for care-givers, groups for individual
melanoma journeys, groups for fundraising, groups for ocular melanoma, groups
for pediatric melanoma, groups for research, groups for grief &
remembrance, groups for advocacy, groups for sun safety ... but I recognized
there was a void. There was no group or page devoted entirely to the dangers of
tanning beds. So Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds was created.
It has been up and running
for about 5 months, and now has almost
1,900 members [in 2021, close to 4,100]. January was designated
Tanning Bed Dangers Awareness Month since it is the beginning of the peak
tanning bed use time for teens wanting that "glow" for Prom and
Spring Break. The page has provided photos and information regarding tanning
bed risks that have been shared across Facebook and Twitter.
There have also been numerous
activities that the members could participate in, and many have done so. These
include contacting fitness centers to ask about whether they provide tanning
beds at their center and attempting to educate them to the contradiction
between promoting a healthy lifestyle and offering cancer in the form of
tanning. We have also tried to educate the customers of tanning salons through
the salons' Facebook pages and to identify any false advertising and notify the
FTC. Another project is to make Facebook aware that tanning salons with
Facebook pages are advertising "self-harm," which is something that
Facebook has a policy against. And our members are kept up to date on the
latest legislation in all states.
Our largest project has been
writing letters/emails/Facebook messages and posts/tweets to over 200
[now 300+] colleges and universities in the US, asking whether they have tanning beds on
campus or in off-campus housing and whether tanning salons are merchants in
their college cash card programs. AIM at Melanoma was kind enough to draft up a
letter for our use. [Dr. Sherry Pagoto, who did the original research on this topic for the University of Massachusetts, is providing guidance.] We have received over 40 replies, with most stating
their tan-free campus policy. Some, like Michigan State, are reviewing their criteria for selecting merchants for the student cash card program or for their discount program.
Our message is being heard; colleges now know that concerned people are
watching them. They cannot continue to promote, or even be perceived to promote,
risky behavior in their students by making tanning beds more easily accessible.
Every day new projects that
pertain to tanning beds come to our attention, and there is something in our
group for everyone who wants to Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds. I
hope to see you there!
Eight
years ago, my daughter Jaime died from melanoma, which the doctors
believed was from her use of tanning beds in high school and college.
She was diagnosed when she was 20 and fought the evil beast of a disease
until her death at 29.
My Jaime’s story gave me the passion and conviction to become “the
indoor tanning industry’s worst nightmare.” The day after Jaime’s
funeral I began going after the indoor tanning industry and their lies
and deception. I drew their wrath by commenting on magazine and
newspaper articles on the internet about the dangers of tanning beds
(see
http://www.vice.com/read/i-was-paid-to-go-undercover-for-the-tanning-industry-122). Social media was in its infancy; Facebook and Twitter had not yet been born.
I also contacted my state legislators about writing a bill to ban
teens from using tanning beds but I was ignored, and it would take
several years before the Texas legislature would have such a bill
introduced and passed … but it did. Two of them in fact. The first one
was weak, but the one that followed was a full under 18 ban, and I
testified with Jaime’s story for both of these laws.
As Facebook grew and melanoma patients found each other, many groups
were formed. There were groups for skin cancer or melanoma in general,
groups for survivors, groups for support, groups for mothers of melanoma
patients, groups for care-givers, groups for individual melanoma
journeys, groups for fundraising, groups for ocular melanoma, groups for
pediatric melanoma, groups for research, groups for grief &
remembrance, groups for advocacy, groups for sun safety … but I
recognized there was a void. There was no group or page devoted entirely
to the dangers of tanning beds. So Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds was
created.
It has been up and running for about 5 months, and now has almost
1,900 members. January was designated Tanning Bed Dangers Awareness
Month since it is the beginning of the peak tanning bed use time for
teens wanting that “glow” for Prom and Spring Break. The page has
provided photos and information regarding tanning bed risks that have
been shared across Facebook and Twitter.
There have also been numerous activities that the members could
participate in, and many have done so. These include contacting fitness
centers to ask about whether they provide tanning beds at their center
and attempting to educate them to the contradiction between promoting a
healthy lifestyle and offering cancer in the form of tanning. We have
also tried to educate the customers of tanning salons through the
salons’ Facebook pages and to identify any false advertising and notify
the FTC. Another project is to make Facebook aware that tanning salons
with Facebook pages are advertising “self-harm,” which is something that
Facebook has a policy against. And our members are kept up to date on
the latest legislation in all states.
Our largest project has been writing letters/emails/Facebook messages
and posts/tweets to over 200 colleges and universities in the US,
asking whether they have tanning beds on campus or in off-campus housing
and whether tanning salons are merchants in their college cash card
programs. AIM at Melanoma was kind enough to draft up a letter for our
use. We have received over 40 replies, with most stating their tan-free
campus policy. Some, like Michigan State, are reviewing their criteria
for selecting merchants for the student cash card program or for their
discount program. Our message is being heard; colleges now know that
concerned people are watching them. They cannot continue to promote, or
even be perceived to promote, risky behavior in their students by making
tanning beds more easily accessible.
Every day new projects that pertain to tanning beds come to our
attention, and there is something in our group for everyone who wants to
Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds. I hope to see you there!
- See more at: http://www.disruptivewomen.net/2015/05/21/birth-of-the-pull-the-plug-on-tanning-beds/#sthash.J3JLflVi.dpuf
Eight
years ago, my daughter Jaime died from melanoma, which the doctors
believed was from her use of tanning beds in high school and college.
She was diagnosed when she was 20 and fought the evil beast of a disease
until her death at 29.
My Jaime’s story gave me the passion and conviction to become “the
indoor tanning industry’s worst nightmare.” The day after Jaime’s
funeral I began going after the indoor tanning industry and their lies
and deception. I drew their wrath by commenting on magazine and
newspaper articles on the internet about the dangers of tanning beds
(see
http://www.vice.com/read/i-was-paid-to-go-undercover-for-the-tanning-industry-122). Social media was in its infancy; Facebook and Twitter had not yet been born.
I also contacted my state legislators about writing a bill to ban
teens from using tanning beds but I was ignored, and it would take
several years before the Texas legislature would have such a bill
introduced and passed … but it did. Two of them in fact. The first one
was weak, but the one that followed was a full under 18 ban, and I
testified with Jaime’s story for both of these laws.
As Facebook grew and melanoma patients found each other, many groups
were formed. There were groups for skin cancer or melanoma in general,
groups for survivors, groups for support, groups for mothers of melanoma
patients, groups for care-givers, groups for individual melanoma
journeys, groups for fundraising, groups for ocular melanoma, groups for
pediatric melanoma, groups for research, groups for grief &
remembrance, groups for advocacy, groups for sun safety … but I
recognized there was a void. There was no group or page devoted entirely
to the dangers of tanning beds. So Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds was
created.
It has been up and running for about 5 months, and now has almost
1,900 members. January was designated Tanning Bed Dangers Awareness
Month since it is the beginning of the peak tanning bed use time for
teens wanting that “glow” for Prom and Spring Break. The page has
provided photos and information regarding tanning bed risks that have
been shared across Facebook and Twitter.
There have also been numerous activities that the members could
participate in, and many have done so. These include contacting fitness
centers to ask about whether they provide tanning beds at their center
and attempting to educate them to the contradiction between promoting a
healthy lifestyle and offering cancer in the form of tanning. We have
also tried to educate the customers of tanning salons through the
salons’ Facebook pages and to identify any false advertising and notify
the FTC. Another project is to make Facebook aware that tanning salons
with Facebook pages are advertising “self-harm,” which is something that
Facebook has a policy against. And our members are kept up to date on
the latest legislation in all states.
Our largest project has been writing letters/emails/Facebook messages
and posts/tweets to over 200 colleges and universities in the US,
asking whether they have tanning beds on campus or in off-campus housing
and whether tanning salons are merchants in their college cash card
programs. AIM at Melanoma was kind enough to draft up a letter for our
use. We have received over 40 replies, with most stating their tan-free
campus policy. Some, like Michigan State, are reviewing their criteria
for selecting merchants for the student cash card program or for their
discount program. Our message is being heard; colleges now know that
concerned people are watching them. They cannot continue to promote, or
even be perceived to promote, risky behavior in their students by making
tanning beds more easily accessible.
Every day new projects that pertain to tanning beds come to our
attention, and there is something in our group for everyone who wants to
Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds. I hope to see you there!
- See more at: http://www.disruptivewomen.net/2015/05/21/birth-of-the-pull-the-plug-on-tanning-beds/#sthash.J3JLflVi.dpuf
Eight
years ago, my daughter Jaime died from melanoma, which the doctors
believed was from her use of tanning beds in high school and college.
She was diagnosed when she was 20 and fought the evil beast of a disease
until her death at 29.
My Jaime’s story gave me the passion and conviction to become “the
indoor tanning industry’s worst nightmare.” The day after Jaime’s
funeral I began going after the indoor tanning industry and their lies
and deception. I drew their wrath by commenting on magazine and
newspaper articles on the internet about the dangers of tanning beds
(see
http://www.vice.com/read/i-was-paid-to-go-undercover-for-the-tanning-industry-122). Social media was in its infancy; Facebook and Twitter had not yet been born.
I also contacted my state legislators about writing a bill to ban
teens from using tanning beds but I was ignored, and it would take
several years before the Texas legislature would have such a bill
introduced and passed … but it did. Two of them in fact. The first one
was weak, but the one that followed was a full under 18 ban, and I
testified with Jaime’s story for both of these laws.
As Facebook grew and melanoma patients found each other, many groups
were formed. There were groups for skin cancer or melanoma in general,
groups for survivors, groups for support, groups for mothers of melanoma
patients, groups for care-givers, groups for individual melanoma
journeys, groups for fundraising, groups for ocular melanoma, groups for
pediatric melanoma, groups for research, groups for grief &
remembrance, groups for advocacy, groups for sun safety … but I
recognized there was a void. There was no group or page devoted entirely
to the dangers of tanning beds. So Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds was
created.
It has been up and running for about 5 months, and now has almost
1,900 members. January was designated Tanning Bed Dangers Awareness
Month since it is the beginning of the peak tanning bed use time for
teens wanting that “glow” for Prom and Spring Break. The page has
provided photos and information regarding tanning bed risks that have
been shared across Facebook and Twitter.
There have also been numerous activities that the members could
participate in, and many have done so. These include contacting fitness
centers to ask about whether they provide tanning beds at their center
and attempting to educate them to the contradiction between promoting a
healthy lifestyle and offering cancer in the form of tanning. We have
also tried to educate the customers of tanning salons through the
salons’ Facebook pages and to identify any false advertising and notify
the FTC. Another project is to make Facebook aware that tanning salons
with Facebook pages are advertising “self-harm,” which is something that
Facebook has a policy against. And our members are kept up to date on
the latest legislation in all states.
Our largest project has been writing letters/emails/Facebook messages
and posts/tweets to over 200 colleges and universities in the US,
asking whether they have tanning beds on campus or in off-campus housing
and whether tanning salons are merchants in their college cash card
programs. AIM at Melanoma was kind enough to draft up a letter for our
use. We have received over 40 replies, with most stating their tan-free
campus policy. Some, like Michigan State, are reviewing their criteria
for selecting merchants for the student cash card program or for their
discount program. Our message is being heard; colleges now know that
concerned people are watching them. They cannot continue to promote, or
even be perceived to promote, risky behavior in their students by making
tanning beds more easily accessible.
Every day new projects that pertain to tanning beds come to our
attention, and there is something in our group for everyone who wants to
Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds. I hope to see you there!
- See more at: http://www.disruptivewomen.net/2015/05/21/birth-of-the-pull-the-plug-on-tanning-beds/#sthash.J3JLflVi.dpuf
Eight
years ago, my daughter Jaime died from melanoma, which the doctors
believed was from her use of tanning beds in high school and college.
She was diagnosed when she was 20 and fought the evil beast of a disease
until her death at 29.
My Jaime’s story gave me the passion and conviction to become “the
indoor tanning industry’s worst nightmare.” The day after Jaime’s
funeral I began going after the indoor tanning industry and their lies
and deception. I drew their wrath by commenting on magazine and
newspaper articles on the internet about the dangers of tanning beds
(see
http://www.vice.com/read/i-was-paid-to-go-undercover-for-the-tanning-industry-122). Social media was in its infancy; Facebook and Twitter had not yet been born.
I also contacted my state legislators about writing a bill to ban
teens from using tanning beds but I was ignored, and it would take
several years before the Texas legislature would have such a bill
introduced and passed … but it did. Two of them in fact. The first one
was weak, but the one that followed was a full under 18 ban, and I
testified with Jaime’s story for both of these laws.
As Facebook grew and melanoma patients found each other, many groups
were formed. There were groups for skin cancer or melanoma in general,
groups for survivors, groups for support, groups for mothers of melanoma
patients, groups for care-givers, groups for individual melanoma
journeys, groups for fundraising, groups for ocular melanoma, groups for
pediatric melanoma, groups for research, groups for grief &
remembrance, groups for advocacy, groups for sun safety … but I
recognized there was a void. There was no group or page devoted entirely
to the dangers of tanning beds. So Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds was
created.
It has been up and running for about 5 months, and now has almost
1,900 members. January was designated Tanning Bed Dangers Awareness
Month since it is the beginning of the peak tanning bed use time for
teens wanting that “glow” for Prom and Spring Break. The page has
provided photos and information regarding tanning bed risks that have
been shared across Facebook and Twitter.
There have also been numerous activities that the members could
participate in, and many have done so. These include contacting fitness
centers to ask about whether they provide tanning beds at their center
and attempting to educate them to the contradiction between promoting a
healthy lifestyle and offering cancer in the form of tanning. We have
also tried to educate the customers of tanning salons through the
salons’ Facebook pages and to identify any false advertising and notify
the FTC. Another project is to make Facebook aware that tanning salons
with Facebook pages are advertising “self-harm,” which is something that
Facebook has a policy against. And our members are kept up to date on
the latest legislation in all states.
Our largest project has been writing letters/emails/Facebook messages
and posts/tweets to over 200 colleges and universities in the US,
asking whether they have tanning beds on campus or in off-campus housing
and whether tanning salons are merchants in their college cash card
programs. AIM at Melanoma was kind enough to draft up a letter for our
use. We have received over 40 replies, with most stating their tan-free
campus policy. Some, like Michigan State, are reviewing their criteria
for selecting merchants for the student cash card program or for their
discount program. Our message is being heard; colleges now know that
concerned people are watching them. They cannot continue to promote, or
even be perceived to promote, risky behavior in their students by making
tanning beds more easily accessible.
Every day new projects that pertain to tanning beds come to our
attention, and there is something in our group for everyone who wants to
Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds. I hope to see you there!
- See more at: http://www.disruptivewomen.net/2015/05/21/birth-of-the-pull-the-plug-on-tanning-beds/#sthash.J3JLflVi.dpuf
Eight
years ago, my daughter Jaime died from melanoma, which the doctors
believed was from her use of tanning beds in high school and college.
She was diagnosed when she was 20 and fought the evil beast of a disease
until her death at 29.
My Jaime’s story gave me the passion and conviction to become “the
indoor tanning industry’s worst nightmare.” The day after Jaime’s
funeral I began going after the indoor tanning industry and their lies
and deception. I drew their wrath by commenting on magazine and
newspaper articles on the internet about the dangers of tanning beds
(see
http://www.vice.com/read/i-was-paid-to-go-undercover-for-the-tanning-industry-122). Social media was in its infancy; Facebook and Twitter had not yet been born.
I also contacted my state legislators about writing a bill to ban
teens from using tanning beds but I was ignored, and it would take
several years before the Texas legislature would have such a bill
introduced and passed … but it did. Two of them in fact. The first one
was weak, but the one that followed was a full under 18 ban, and I
testified with Jaime’s story for both of these laws.
As Facebook grew and melanoma patients found each other, many groups
were formed. There were groups for skin cancer or melanoma in general,
groups for survivors, groups for support, groups for mothers of melanoma
patients, groups for care-givers, groups for individual melanoma
journeys, groups for fundraising, groups for ocular melanoma, groups for
pediatric melanoma, groups for research, groups for grief &
remembrance, groups for advocacy, groups for sun safety … but I
recognized there was a void. There was no group or page devoted entirely
to the dangers of tanning beds. So Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds was
created.
It has been up and running for about 5 months, and now has almost
1,900 members. January was designated Tanning Bed Dangers Awareness
Month since it is the beginning of the peak tanning bed use time for
teens wanting that “glow” for Prom and Spring Break. The page has
provided photos and information regarding tanning bed risks that have
been shared across Facebook and Twitter.
There have also been numerous activities that the members could
participate in, and many have done so. These include contacting fitness
centers to ask about whether they provide tanning beds at their center
and attempting to educate them to the contradiction between promoting a
healthy lifestyle and offering cancer in the form of tanning. We have
also tried to educate the customers of tanning salons through the
salons’ Facebook pages and to identify any false advertising and notify
the FTC. Another project is to make Facebook aware that tanning salons
with Facebook pages are advertising “self-harm,” which is something that
Facebook has a policy against. And our members are kept up to date on
the latest legislation in all states.
Our largest project has been writing letters/emails/Facebook messages
and posts/tweets to over 200 colleges and universities in the US,
asking whether they have tanning beds on campus or in off-campus housing
and whether tanning salons are merchants in their college cash card
programs. AIM at Melanoma was kind enough to draft up a letter for our
use. We have received over 40 replies, with most stating their tan-free
campus policy. Some, like Michigan State, are reviewing their criteria
for selecting merchants for the student cash card program or for their
discount program. Our message is being heard; colleges now know that
concerned people are watching them. They cannot continue to promote, or
even be perceived to promote, risky behavior in their students by making
tanning beds more easily accessible.
Every day new projects that pertain to tanning beds come to our
attention, and there is something in our group for everyone who wants to
Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds. I hope to see you there!
- See more at: http://www.disruptivewomen.net/2015/05/21/birth-of-the-pull-the-plug-on-tanning-beds/#sthash.J3JLflVi.dpuf
Eight
years ago, my daughter Jaime died from melanoma, which the doctors
believed was from her use of tanning beds in high school and college.
She was diagnosed when she was 20 and fought the evil beast of a disease
until her death at 29.
My Jaime’s story gave me the passion and conviction to become “the
indoor tanning industry’s worst nightmare.” The day after Jaime’s
funeral I began going after the indoor tanning industry and their lies
and deception. I drew their wrath by commenting on magazine and
newspaper articles on the internet about the dangers of tanning beds
(see
http://www.vice.com/read/i-was-paid-to-go-undercover-for-the-tanning-industry-122). Social media was in its infancy; Facebook and Twitter had not yet been born.
I also contacted my state legislators about writing a bill to ban
teens from using tanning beds but I was ignored, and it would take
several years before the Texas legislature would have such a bill
introduced and passed … but it did. Two of them in fact. The first one
was weak, but the one that followed was a full under 18 ban, and I
testified with Jaime’s story for both of these laws.
As Facebook grew and melanoma patients found each other, many groups
were formed. There were groups for skin cancer or melanoma in general,
groups for survivors, groups for support, groups for mothers of melanoma
patients, groups for care-givers, groups for individual melanoma
journeys, groups for fundraising, groups for ocular melanoma, groups for
pediatric melanoma, groups for research, groups for grief &
remembrance, groups for advocacy, groups for sun safety … but I
recognized there was a void. There was no group or page devoted entirely
to the dangers of tanning beds. So Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds was
created.
It has been up and running for about 5 months, and now has almost
1,900 members. January was designated Tanning Bed Dangers Awareness
Month since it is the beginning of the peak tanning bed use time for
teens wanting that “glow” for Prom and Spring Break. The page has
provided photos and information regarding tanning bed risks that have
been shared across Facebook and Twitter.
There have also been numerous activities that the members could
participate in, and many have done so. These include contacting fitness
centers to ask about whether they provide tanning beds at their center
and attempting to educate them to the contradiction between promoting a
healthy lifestyle and offering cancer in the form of tanning. We have
also tried to educate the customers of tanning salons through the
salons’ Facebook pages and to identify any false advertising and notify
the FTC. Another project is to make Facebook aware that tanning salons
with Facebook pages are advertising “self-harm,” which is something that
Facebook has a policy against. And our members are kept up to date on
the latest legislation in all states.
Our largest project has been writing letters/emails/Facebook messages
and posts/tweets to over 200 colleges and universities in the US,
asking whether they have tanning beds on campus or in off-campus housing
and whether tanning salons are merchants in their college cash card
programs. AIM at Melanoma was kind enough to draft up a letter for our
use. We have received over 40 replies, with most stating their tan-free
campus policy. Some, like Michigan State, are reviewing their criteria
for selecting merchants for the student cash card program or for their
discount program. Our message is being heard; colleges now know that
concerned people are watching them. They cannot continue to promote, or
even be perceived to promote, risky behavior in their students by making
tanning beds more easily accessible.
Every day new projects that pertain to tanning beds come to our
attention, and there is something in our group for everyone who wants to
Pull the Plug on Tanning Beds. I hope to see you there!
- See more at: http://www.disruptivewomen.net/2015/05/21/birth-of-the-pull-the-plug-on-tanning-beds/#sthash.J3JLflVi.dpuf
It's been 10 years this week since Jaime took her last breathe, and I feel I should have something important to share. I feel like I should have encouragement for those mothers who are also grieving but not as far down the road as I am. I feel like I should have some answers to all the questions that all of us angel moms ask. But I don't. 
