Cara Raglin started going to tanning salons when she was 15, tagging along with her older sister. Like many of her friends, she said, she tanned excessively throughout her high school years because of the pressure to fit in and look good.

Last fall at the age of 24, the south St. Louis County resident learned she had melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, killing about 8,650 Americans a year.

"I wish I wouldn't have cared so much about being tan," Raglin said.

Concerned about the increasing number of skin cancer cases in young women — the indoor tanning industry's biggest consumers — some lawmakers in Missouri and Illinois are looking to restrict teens' access to tanning beds.

Legislation is pending in Missouri requiring a parent or guardian to sign a consent form — in person — before anyone younger than 18 can tan indoors. In Illinois, a proposed outright ban on indoor tanning for teens younger than 18 appears stalled in the Senate.

The Missouri measure has become part of a more extensive public safety bill, said Rep. Gary L. Cross, R-Lee's Summit. Cross was the original bill's sponsor, and said he is confident that the larger bill will pass.

The measure comes on the heels of the American Academy of Pediatrics' recent announcement that it supports legislation prohibiting minors from using the UV-emitting beds. An advisory panel to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which is considering stricter regulations on tanning beds, also has advocated barring minors from their use.

The bills' supporters point to a recent study showing that the risk of melanoma jumps by 74 percent in people who have used tanning beds, and that the risk increases with cumulative exposure. But the tanning bed industry argues that the link between melanoma and indoor tanning is questionable and that parents should weigh the risks for their children.

"If parents are involved with their children like they should be, the government doesn't need to step in," said John Overstreet, spokesman for the Indoor Tanning Association.

Raglin has testified in support of the Missouri bill, saying the requirement would have prevented her from tanning because her disapproving mother would not have signed a form. Another young cancer survivor told her story to Illinois senators. Kathleen Stegle, a senior at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, said she used tanning beds several times a week as a teenager to try to clear up her acne.

Many Missouri tanning salons already have a policy requiring teens to get parental consent, but Raglin said the forms are often ignored.

Missouri is among 18 states that have no laws restricting indoor tanning. Illinois already prohibits minors under 14 from tanning, and teens ages14-17 must get permission from a parent or guardian.

Dermatologists in Missouri have for the last three years pushed for tougher restrictions on tanning bed use among teens, said Dr. Lynn Cornelius, chief of dermatology at Washington University School of Medicine. Their hope is that the latest bare-bones proposal has a chance at passing.

"We tried to present a bill that no one could construe as anti-business," Cornelius said. "It really is about protecting our kids."

More than a million Americans tan indoors every day, with increasingly high use among females in their teens and 20s, surveys show. At the same time, melanoma has become the second-most common form of cancer for adolescents and young adults ages 15-29. Many doctors say they see a correlation.

Cornelius said more women in their 20s are showing up in her office with melanoma. When she asks about their tanning habits, "the number using tanning beds is 80 (percent) to 90 percent of them," she said. "It's just alarming."

Last summer, the cancer research arm of the World Health Organization moved tanning beds to its highest cancer risk category. Some tanning beds produce UV radiation that is 10 to 15 times stronger than sunlight.

Overstreet, of the tanning association, says indoor tanning can be done safely in moderation based on a person's skin type. He pointed to research that shows some UV exposure may even protect against melanoma.

Brian Rushing, who owns a small hair and tanning salon just outside Springfield, Mo., said teen restrictions would add to struggles already brought on by the recovering economy and new 10 percent federal tax on tanning services.

He said, "Each one of these things is a steppingstone to putting us out of business for sure."

The bills are Missouri HB600 and Illinois SB1329.