HAMILTON — Opponents of a proposal to ban teenagers from using tanning salons in the city were upset Wednesday evening after being denied a chance to speak out against the issue during the Hamilton City Council's meeting.

Earlier this week the council agreed to schedule a special work session on the issue from 5 to 7 p.m. Oct. 11 to allow proponents and opponents to state their cases.

Hamilton Mayor Don Ryan Wednesday night told members of the audience, which included both proponents and opponents to the issue, that their comments would have to wait until the special work session. Those who could not make it to that meeting could submit their comments in writing, he said.

The council is not expected to vote on the issue until Oct. 25.

If the council deems more information is needed on the issue following the Oct. 11 meeting, Ryan said the proposal would be tabled.

Following the meeting, physicians who support the proposal said they were prepared to speak but understood that council preferred to wait until the scheduled meeting.

Those in opposition to the issue, however, were not so understanding.

Larry Flechner, and Indiana resident and owner of Tan One on in Hamilton, was among a group of nearly 30 opponents who turned out Wednesday hoping his side would be heard by the council.

"Some of these people, including myself, made special arrangements to be here tonight and cannot be here at the next meeting," Flechner said. "For the council not to hear them is an outrage. These citizens are really enraged that the council is trying to take away some of their parental rights."

Flechner said more than 1,400 area residents have signed a petition against the proposed ban.

On Sept. 13, Councilman George McNally introduced the plan after local physicians representing the Butler County Medical Society and the Hamilton-Fairfield Academy of Medicine contacted him about data that linked skin cancer to excessive ultraviolet radiation exposure early in life.

The physicians pointed out that Food and Drug Administration has determined that ultraviolet radiation is a carcinogen.

Data indicates that skin cancer is closely associated with exposure to excessive ultraviolet radiation before the age of 18, and that one in every five children exposed to excessive UV rays develops skin cancer later in life.

The physicians argued that use of tanning beds by minors should be regulated just as the government regulates tobacco and alcohol use.

Nationwide, only California regulates youth tanning bed use; in 2004, it was banned for children younger than 14.

Hamilton's proposal to ban it outright for minors would be the first of its kind in the nation, officials have said.

State and city law allows minors to use a tanning facility with written consent from a parent.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2186 or lbernard@coxohio.com.