Canada’s professional sunbed association on Wednesday issued a Canada-wide press statement saying those who have lobbied for under-18 indoor tanning bans in Canada have misrepresented data to make their case.

“The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) and other lobbyists misrepresented melanoma research in a press release today, misapplying statistics gathered from studies of unsupervised home tanning units and falsely alleging that they apply to professional indoor tanning facilities in Canada,” the JCTA said in the Wednesday press release, responding to a press statement issued earlier in the day by the Canadian Cancer Society.

The JCTA called for full public meetings in January to address the issues and invited the CCS to participate. “The Joint Canadian Tanning Association (JCTA) today invited the Canadian Cancer Society and members of the CRD to join them in a public forum in January to discuss the issue in greater detail before any legislation moves forward. CRD’s public hearings on this topic thus far have limited discussion and have not allowed all the science to be examined in an open setting,” the JCTA release said.

The CCS press statement earlier in the day alleged that “Any use of indoor tanning equipment before the age of 35 has been found to increase the risk of melanoma by 75 per cent” as a statement supporting a ban on under-18 tanning in commercial salons, as has been presented for consideration in some districts in Canada.

The JCTA responded: “Of particular concern: CCS and others are misrepresenting data findings of a 2009 review paper published by the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer. Data in the report actually implicate home tanning units and medical usage of tanning equipment to treat cosmetic skin conditions as the risk factors – not commercial indoor tanning. Close analysis of data from the IARC report — when separated by unsupervised home usage of tanning equipment verses usage in indoor tanning facilities and medical usage of tanning equipment in doctor’s offices — reveals that no statistically significant increase in risk (6 percent) was attributable to commercial tanning facility usage (OR = 1.06; 95% CI: 0.89-1.24), while larger increases (40 per cent and 96 per cent) were attributable to home (OR = 1.40; 95% CI: 1.17-1.66); and medical usage of tanning equipment (OR = 1.96; 95% CI: 0.89-4.33).”

The release continued, “Further review of the IARC data show that there was no connection between indoor tanning usage and melanoma for people with skin types dark enough to tan. The only connection was with people with “Skin Type I” who tan in Europe for therapeutic reasons but who are screened from tanning in North American facilities.”

The JCTA, attempting to cooperate with the CRD and with governments across Canada, has proposed an alternative plan which includes parental consent for ages 18 and under along with a full set of regulations for all ages. According to the JCTA release, “In a recent study of CRD area households with children, 62% favor parental consent over the proposed ban.”