Home tattoo kits 'are putting teenagers at risk from disease'

Teenagers are putting themselves at risk of debilitating andpotentially deadly blood diseases by buying DIY tattoo kits over theinternet. At 60 a time, the kits come with inks, needles and designsbut there are no controls over age of the recipient, infectiousdiseases, or cleanliness. Children have caught hepatitis from suchkits, which are cheaper than visiting a professional, particularlyif used several times.

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) soundedthe alarm after carrying out an investigation into tattooing trendsand practice. Professional parlours are legally required not totattoo anyone under 18 and are licensed and inspected by localauthorities. By contrast, Chinese-made kits often have noinstructions.

Julie Barratt, the CIEH director, said: "The age of consent goesout the window. You are not going to ask questions about health. Youcould be tattooing your mates all in one go and passing oninfections. You also cannot trace people if anything goes wrong. Youwouldn't do this with anything else - you can't stroll into Bootsand buy a needle."

Unsafe tattooing - without health screening and cleanliness -risks spreading HIV/Aids and hepatitis. In Llanelli, south Wales, in2008, teenagers as young as 14 using DIY kits found their tattoosbecoming infected and Several contracted hepatitis.

In a study to be published on Thursday, the CIEH's Walesresearcher, Stephanie Powell, found that more than half ofprofessional tattooists broke rules on best practice. Studentsvisited parlours posing as potential customers and asked bytelephone whether tattooists would work at an all-weekend 30thbirthday party.

Of the 33 parlours visited, only 61 per cent screened for medicalconditions and only 52 per cent offered any advice. Only 7 per centasked for proof that the client was an adult. Of 56 licensedparlours asked whether they would attend the party, 49 rejected theidea. However, seven accepted despite the likelihood of the clients'decisions being influenced by alcohol or peer pressure. Conditionsmight have been unclean or unsafe for other reasons. The research,carried out in Cardiff, Caerphilly, Newport, Bridgend,Monmouthshire, Rhondda-Cynon Taf, Torfaen and the Vale of Glamorgan,will be presented to a CIEH conference on Thursday.

Describing some of the findings as "astonishing", Ms Barratt saidtattoos should be regulated more closely because they wereoccasional purchases as well as being permanent. "It's not likehaving your fringe cut - it's not going to grow back," she said.