Dr. Vegas’ Monthly Blog:
Dermatology notes from H.L. Greenberg, M.D.
A friend asked me the other day why my twitter account description reads, “Patient Advocate”? I told him, “Because I am interested in championing the patient”. As a physician, I’m afforded the unique opportunity to do something for another person that they cannot do for themselves. I take great satisfaction in helping my patients achieve their needs.
On 6/4/2013, Governor Brian Sandoval signed the tanning bed ban bill, SB 267 into law, legislation that will help prevent future skin cancers! This bill bans indoor tanning beds for people under the age of 18 in the state of Nevada. It is a bill for which I fought hard, calling our representatives in the Nevada state legislature and sending letters with the support of the American Society for Dermatolgic Surgery, the American Academy of Dermatology, AIM at Melanoma, and the Skin Cancer Foundation. Tanning beds are carcinogenic (they cause cancer), alcohol can cause chirrosis, and smoking can cause lung cancer- none of this should be news.
One of the benefits of being an adult is being able to take responsibility and accept the consequences of our actions. It is my belief that minors are not equipped to deal with all of the potential consequences of their actions and as a society we have a duty to protect them. In the same way that people under 21 are not allowed to drink alcohol, I believe that people under the age of 18 should be protected from the dangers of tanning beds. As a physician it is my duty to fight for my patients, especially the weak, disadvantaged and uneducated, in order to give them all of the tools that they need in order to make the best decision for themselves.
