Concern
Growing over American Youth Doing
Their Own Piercings, Tattoos
Associated Press
Martha Irvine
February 4, 2004
In Hennepin County, Minnesota - which includes Minneapolis - officials started a poster campaign in schools and youth venues to encourage young people to have tattoos and piercings done only by licensed professionals. The campaign aims to stem the growing trend toward tattoos and piercings friends give to each other at "poke and stick" parties.
"Get the good design, not a bad disease!" one poster says about tattooing. Another shows a pierced upper lip with warnings about the risks of infections, nerve damage and blood-borne diseases.
The Oregon Health Licensing Office launched a Web-based campaign after several young people developed serious upper ear infections from piercings at a jewelry kiosk with lax sterilization procedures. The cases and resulting disfiguration were documented in the Journal of the American Medical Association in the article "Outbreak of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Infections Caused by Commercial Piercing of Upper Ear Cartilage" (2004;291:981-985).
Other states offer brochures and videos about tattooing and piercing. Concerns include the potential spread of tetanus and hepatitis B or C if people share tattooing needles or other sharp objects used for piercing. "It's just not something you can do in your garage," said Shahn Anderson, a licensed tattooist and president of the Alliance of Professional Tattooists, who helped design the Hennepin County campaign.
Several states have laws prohibiting minors from getting tattoos at all, and other states are considering such bans. Often, licensed piercers and tattooists have high safety standards and may require a parent to be present, or they may set their own age limits for certain procedures.
"We're not telling kids they shouldn't get tattoos or piercings," said Gail Dorfman, the Hennepin County commissioner whose age-limits ordinance prompted the safety campaign. "We're just saying, 'Be smart about it.'"