Guest guest Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110306/LOCAL/303069920 Published: March 6, 2011 3:00 a.m. A big rethink on ink More training, safety needed, health officials, tattooists say Lanka | The Journal Gazette FORT WAYNE – To become a licensed cosmetologist in Indiana, a person needs 1,500 hours of classroom training. Becoming a massage therapist requires 500 hours, and a nail technician must complete 450 hours. Yet to perform tattoos – where the skin is cut and blood is let – Hoosiers must spend only a few hours taking a blood safety test. The discrepancy is not lost on the president of the Fort Wayne- County Board of Health. “If we’re regulating people who give pedicures, we should be regulating people who are putting needles into human bodies,” said ph Steensma, health board president. The need for such regulation stems from the inherent health risks of tattooing, Steensma said. For example, a recent study found people with tattoos were almost three times as likely to have Hepatitis C as those without them. Mindy Waldron, county health department administrator, said the local laws haven’t been changed for a decade, so the county is reviewing possible changes. A tattoo convention at Grand Wayne Center prompted the closer look as the county had to deal with hundreds of artists – many from out of the county – performing tattoos and body piercings. “Our ordinance doesn’t really cover those type of events very well,” she said. So as the county looks at ways to properly manage large conventions – the Phunk-N-Ink tattoo and Music Festival returns to town this month – it will also look at other areas to improve the law. While the county health board will discuss proposed changes to its tattoo ordinance this month, local officials said state help is what is needed most to ensure safety in the trade. In 1997, state law required the state health department to adopt rules regulating the cleanliness of tattoo parlors. Those rules became law in 1998. Safety-related requirements include: Artists get annual training on how diseases are spread through blood, mandatory use of gloves or other protection and needles must be sterile and used only once. The state’s own informational sheet on tattoo parlors lists exemptions that Steensma and others see as problems. The state rules don’t require artists to register with the state. The state doesn’t inspect tattoo parlors, and it doesn’t require artists to receive any formal training or certification. Even the state representative for the Alliance of Professional Tattooists believes the profession should be more regulated. Don Corah, the group’s secretary and a Fort Wayne resident, called it “unconscionable” that in County anyone can take a quick course over the Internet, pay a fee and get a permit. “The public has this perception that since you have this permit on the wall, you know what you’re doing,” said Corah, who has been tattooing people for 31 years. Adding rules The system governing tattoo artists today is much better than before 1997, Corah said, when the state was basically a Wild West for the profession with no laws. Then, Corah said most artists worked out of their homes, and there wasn’t much law enforcement could do if tattoo customers believed they had been harmed by an artist. He said some people were charged with practicing medicine without a license, but those charges could be easily defeated by artists who knew the law. Then in 1997 a law was passed to require those younger than 18 to get a parent’s permission for a tattoo, and there also were rules added to regulate the cleanliness of the work. The state, however, is still fairly hands-off when it comes to tattoo artists. In fact, when asked about the laws, a representative of the state health department simply said the state doesn’t regulate tattoo parlors. That responsibility is left to Indiana counties. County approved its local rules in 2001. The rules require tattoo parlors and artists to register with the county, keep a list of patrons and undertake annual education on the spread of disease through the blood. The county also dictates cleanliness standards, such as not working while sick and washing hands. The county inspects tattoo parlors at least twice a year. Need for safety Steensma said the reasons that regulations are needed are not complicated. Many communicable diseases can be carried in blood, and without proper technique or hygiene, they can spread during the tattoo procedure. “The reality is, it’s a pretty simple public health issue,” he said. “These are not diseases that we just sneeze at.” Tattooing requires injection of pigments into the dermal layer of skin by puncturing the skin 80 to 150 times a second, according to a study published last summer by the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. Because tattoo instruments come into contact with blood and bodily fluids, viral and microbial infections may be transmitted if the instruments are used on more than one person without being sterilized or without proper hygiene techniques, the study said. It reported that 36 percent of Americans younger than 30 have tattoos. The study found that getting a tattoo is a “strong risk factor” for contracting Hepatitis C, and the link was even more significant for tattoos done in non-professional parlors or done by friends. Hepatitis C is a viral disease that leads to swelling of the liver. Of the people infected with the disease, most develop a chronic infection despite there being no symptoms. If the infection has been present for many years, the liver may be permanently scarred, which could require a liver transplant. Steensma said professionals such as Corah put safeguards in place, but there isn’t proper enforcement or penalties to stop fly-by-night shops. State help Corah thinks to ensure safety, the state should create a tattoo license that requires artists to receive proper training. The state should require some level of practical experience before artists are allowed to perform without supervision, he said. Now anyone with a few bucks and hours can take an online course, get a permit, drive to a local shop to purchase equipment and start tattooing. While he believes the county is doing what it can to promote health and safety, he also thinks there should be statewide requirements for a license. “The craft should be learned before you get the permit,” he said. He pointed to Missouri as a state that probably has the best law, but the Show Me State requires only 300 hours of education, while Corah’s group thinks 1,200 hours is better. Waldron said with nail technicians and tanning salon operators requiring state licenses, it is odd that tattoo artists don’t need any. She said such requirements help weed out those who would perform the art in an unsafe manner. “I feel like the state has kind of dropped the ball,” Corah said. blanka@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110306/LOCAL/303069920 Published: March 6, 2011 3:00 a.m. A big rethink on ink More training, safety needed, health officials, tattooists say Lanka | The Journal Gazette FORT WAYNE – To become a licensed cosmetologist in Indiana, a person needs 1,500 hours of classroom training. Becoming a massage therapist requires 500 hours, and a nail technician must complete 450 hours. Yet to perform tattoos – where the skin is cut and blood is let – Hoosiers must spend only a few hours taking a blood safety test. The discrepancy is not lost on the president of the Fort Wayne- County Board of Health. “If we’re regulating people who give pedicures, we should be regulating people who are putting needles into human bodies,” said ph Steensma, health board president. The need for such regulation stems from the inherent health risks of tattooing, Steensma said. For example, a recent study found people with tattoos were almost three times as likely to have Hepatitis C as those without them. Mindy Waldron, county health department administrator, said the local laws haven’t been changed for a decade, so the county is reviewing possible changes. A tattoo convention at Grand Wayne Center prompted the closer look as the county had to deal with hundreds of artists – many from out of the county – performing tattoos and body piercings. “Our ordinance doesn’t really cover those type of events very well,” she said. So as the county looks at ways to properly manage large conventions – the Phunk-N-Ink tattoo and Music Festival returns to town this month – it will also look at other areas to improve the law. While the county health board will discuss proposed changes to its tattoo ordinance this month, local officials said state help is what is needed most to ensure safety in the trade. In 1997, state law required the state health department to adopt rules regulating the cleanliness of tattoo parlors. Those rules became law in 1998. Safety-related requirements include: Artists get annual training on how diseases are spread through blood, mandatory use of gloves or other protection and needles must be sterile and used only once. The state’s own informational sheet on tattoo parlors lists exemptions that Steensma and others see as problems. The state rules don’t require artists to register with the state. The state doesn’t inspect tattoo parlors, and it doesn’t require artists to receive any formal training or certification. Even the state representative for the Alliance of Professional Tattooists believes the profession should be more regulated. Don Corah, the group’s secretary and a Fort Wayne resident, called it “unconscionable” that in County anyone can take a quick course over the Internet, pay a fee and get a permit. “The public has this perception that since you have this permit on the wall, you know what you’re doing,” said Corah, who has been tattooing people for 31 years. Adding rules The system governing tattoo artists today is much better than before 1997, Corah said, when the state was basically a Wild West for the profession with no laws. Then, Corah said most artists worked out of their homes, and there wasn’t much law enforcement could do if tattoo customers believed they had been harmed by an artist. He said some people were charged with practicing medicine without a license, but those charges could be easily defeated by artists who knew the law. Then in 1997 a law was passed to require those younger than 18 to get a parent’s permission for a tattoo, and there also were rules added to regulate the cleanliness of the work. The state, however, is still fairly hands-off when it comes to tattoo artists. In fact, when asked about the laws, a representative of the state health department simply said the state doesn’t regulate tattoo parlors. That responsibility is left to Indiana counties. County approved its local rules in 2001. The rules require tattoo parlors and artists to register with the county, keep a list of patrons and undertake annual education on the spread of disease through the blood. The county also dictates cleanliness standards, such as not working while sick and washing hands. The county inspects tattoo parlors at least twice a year. Need for safety Steensma said the reasons that regulations are needed are not complicated. Many communicable diseases can be carried in blood, and without proper technique or hygiene, they can spread during the tattoo procedure. “The reality is, it’s a pretty simple public health issue,” he said. “These are not diseases that we just sneeze at.” Tattooing requires injection of pigments into the dermal layer of skin by puncturing the skin 80 to 150 times a second, according to a study published last summer by the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. Because tattoo instruments come into contact with blood and bodily fluids, viral and microbial infections may be transmitted if the instruments are used on more than one person without being sterilized or without proper hygiene techniques, the study said. It reported that 36 percent of Americans younger than 30 have tattoos. The study found that getting a tattoo is a “strong risk factor” for contracting Hepatitis C, and the link was even more significant for tattoos done in non-professional parlors or done by friends. Hepatitis C is a viral disease that leads to swelling of the liver. Of the people infected with the disease, most develop a chronic infection despite there being no symptoms. If the infection has been present for many years, the liver may be permanently scarred, which could require a liver transplant. Steensma said professionals such as Corah put safeguards in place, but there isn’t proper enforcement or penalties to stop fly-by-night shops. State help Corah thinks to ensure safety, the state should create a tattoo license that requires artists to receive proper training. The state should require some level of practical experience before artists are allowed to perform without supervision, he said. Now anyone with a few bucks and hours can take an online course, get a permit, drive to a local shop to purchase equipment and start tattooing. While he believes the county is doing what it can to promote health and safety, he also thinks there should be statewide requirements for a license. “The craft should be learned before you get the permit,” he said. He pointed to Missouri as a state that probably has the best law, but the Show Me State requires only 300 hours of education, while Corah’s group thinks 1,200 hours is better. Waldron said with nail technicians and tanning salon operators requiring state licenses, it is odd that tattoo artists don’t need any. She said such requirements help weed out those who would perform the art in an unsafe manner. “I feel like the state has kind of dropped the ball,” Corah said. blanka@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110306/LOCAL/303069920 Published: March 6, 2011 3:00 a.m. A big rethink on ink More training, safety needed, health officials, tattooists say Lanka | The Journal Gazette FORT WAYNE – To become a licensed cosmetologist in Indiana, a person needs 1,500 hours of classroom training. Becoming a massage therapist requires 500 hours, and a nail technician must complete 450 hours. Yet to perform tattoos – where the skin is cut and blood is let – Hoosiers must spend only a few hours taking a blood safety test. The discrepancy is not lost on the president of the Fort Wayne- County Board of Health. “If we’re regulating people who give pedicures, we should be regulating people who are putting needles into human bodies,” said ph Steensma, health board president. The need for such regulation stems from the inherent health risks of tattooing, Steensma said. For example, a recent study found people with tattoos were almost three times as likely to have Hepatitis C as those without them. Mindy Waldron, county health department administrator, said the local laws haven’t been changed for a decade, so the county is reviewing possible changes. A tattoo convention at Grand Wayne Center prompted the closer look as the county had to deal with hundreds of artists – many from out of the county – performing tattoos and body piercings. “Our ordinance doesn’t really cover those type of events very well,” she said. So as the county looks at ways to properly manage large conventions – the Phunk-N-Ink tattoo and Music Festival returns to town this month – it will also look at other areas to improve the law. While the county health board will discuss proposed changes to its tattoo ordinance this month, local officials said state help is what is needed most to ensure safety in the trade. In 1997, state law required the state health department to adopt rules regulating the cleanliness of tattoo parlors. Those rules became law in 1998. Safety-related requirements include: Artists get annual training on how diseases are spread through blood, mandatory use of gloves or other protection and needles must be sterile and used only once. The state’s own informational sheet on tattoo parlors lists exemptions that Steensma and others see as problems. The state rules don’t require artists to register with the state. The state doesn’t inspect tattoo parlors, and it doesn’t require artists to receive any formal training or certification. Even the state representative for the Alliance of Professional Tattooists believes the profession should be more regulated. Don Corah, the group’s secretary and a Fort Wayne resident, called it “unconscionable” that in County anyone can take a quick course over the Internet, pay a fee and get a permit. “The public has this perception that since you have this permit on the wall, you know what you’re doing,” said Corah, who has been tattooing people for 31 years. Adding rules The system governing tattoo artists today is much better than before 1997, Corah said, when the state was basically a Wild West for the profession with no laws. Then, Corah said most artists worked out of their homes, and there wasn’t much law enforcement could do if tattoo customers believed they had been harmed by an artist. He said some people were charged with practicing medicine without a license, but those charges could be easily defeated by artists who knew the law. Then in 1997 a law was passed to require those younger than 18 to get a parent’s permission for a tattoo, and there also were rules added to regulate the cleanliness of the work. The state, however, is still fairly hands-off when it comes to tattoo artists. In fact, when asked about the laws, a representative of the state health department simply said the state doesn’t regulate tattoo parlors. That responsibility is left to Indiana counties. County approved its local rules in 2001. The rules require tattoo parlors and artists to register with the county, keep a list of patrons and undertake annual education on the spread of disease through the blood. The county also dictates cleanliness standards, such as not working while sick and washing hands. The county inspects tattoo parlors at least twice a year. Need for safety Steensma said the reasons that regulations are needed are not complicated. Many communicable diseases can be carried in blood, and without proper technique or hygiene, they can spread during the tattoo procedure. “The reality is, it’s a pretty simple public health issue,” he said. “These are not diseases that we just sneeze at.” Tattooing requires injection of pigments into the dermal layer of skin by puncturing the skin 80 to 150 times a second, according to a study published last summer by the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. Because tattoo instruments come into contact with blood and bodily fluids, viral and microbial infections may be transmitted if the instruments are used on more than one person without being sterilized or without proper hygiene techniques, the study said. It reported that 36 percent of Americans younger than 30 have tattoos. The study found that getting a tattoo is a “strong risk factor” for contracting Hepatitis C, and the link was even more significant for tattoos done in non-professional parlors or done by friends. Hepatitis C is a viral disease that leads to swelling of the liver. Of the people infected with the disease, most develop a chronic infection despite there being no symptoms. If the infection has been present for many years, the liver may be permanently scarred, which could require a liver transplant. Steensma said professionals such as Corah put safeguards in place, but there isn’t proper enforcement or penalties to stop fly-by-night shops. State help Corah thinks to ensure safety, the state should create a tattoo license that requires artists to receive proper training. The state should require some level of practical experience before artists are allowed to perform without supervision, he said. Now anyone with a few bucks and hours can take an online course, get a permit, drive to a local shop to purchase equipment and start tattooing. While he believes the county is doing what it can to promote health and safety, he also thinks there should be statewide requirements for a license. “The craft should be learned before you get the permit,” he said. He pointed to Missouri as a state that probably has the best law, but the Show Me State requires only 300 hours of education, while Corah’s group thinks 1,200 hours is better. Waldron said with nail technicians and tanning salon operators requiring state licenses, it is odd that tattoo artists don’t need any. She said such requirements help weed out those who would perform the art in an unsafe manner. “I feel like the state has kind of dropped the ball,” Corah said. blanka@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20110306/LOCAL/303069920 Published: March 6, 2011 3:00 a.m. A big rethink on ink More training, safety needed, health officials, tattooists say Lanka | The Journal Gazette FORT WAYNE – To become a licensed cosmetologist in Indiana, a person needs 1,500 hours of classroom training. Becoming a massage therapist requires 500 hours, and a nail technician must complete 450 hours. Yet to perform tattoos – where the skin is cut and blood is let – Hoosiers must spend only a few hours taking a blood safety test. The discrepancy is not lost on the president of the Fort Wayne- County Board of Health. “If we’re regulating people who give pedicures, we should be regulating people who are putting needles into human bodies,” said ph Steensma, health board president. The need for such regulation stems from the inherent health risks of tattooing, Steensma said. For example, a recent study found people with tattoos were almost three times as likely to have Hepatitis C as those without them. Mindy Waldron, county health department administrator, said the local laws haven’t been changed for a decade, so the county is reviewing possible changes. A tattoo convention at Grand Wayne Center prompted the closer look as the county had to deal with hundreds of artists – many from out of the county – performing tattoos and body piercings. “Our ordinance doesn’t really cover those type of events very well,” she said. So as the county looks at ways to properly manage large conventions – the Phunk-N-Ink tattoo and Music Festival returns to town this month – it will also look at other areas to improve the law. While the county health board will discuss proposed changes to its tattoo ordinance this month, local officials said state help is what is needed most to ensure safety in the trade. In 1997, state law required the state health department to adopt rules regulating the cleanliness of tattoo parlors. Those rules became law in 1998. Safety-related requirements include: Artists get annual training on how diseases are spread through blood, mandatory use of gloves or other protection and needles must be sterile and used only once. The state’s own informational sheet on tattoo parlors lists exemptions that Steensma and others see as problems. The state rules don’t require artists to register with the state. The state doesn’t inspect tattoo parlors, and it doesn’t require artists to receive any formal training or certification. Even the state representative for the Alliance of Professional Tattooists believes the profession should be more regulated. Don Corah, the group’s secretary and a Fort Wayne resident, called it “unconscionable” that in County anyone can take a quick course over the Internet, pay a fee and get a permit. “The public has this perception that since you have this permit on the wall, you know what you’re doing,” said Corah, who has been tattooing people for 31 years. Adding rules The system governing tattoo artists today is much better than before 1997, Corah said, when the state was basically a Wild West for the profession with no laws. Then, Corah said most artists worked out of their homes, and there wasn’t much law enforcement could do if tattoo customers believed they had been harmed by an artist. He said some people were charged with practicing medicine without a license, but those charges could be easily defeated by artists who knew the law. Then in 1997 a law was passed to require those younger than 18 to get a parent’s permission for a tattoo, and there also were rules added to regulate the cleanliness of the work. The state, however, is still fairly hands-off when it comes to tattoo artists. In fact, when asked about the laws, a representative of the state health department simply said the state doesn’t regulate tattoo parlors. That responsibility is left to Indiana counties. County approved its local rules in 2001. The rules require tattoo parlors and artists to register with the county, keep a list of patrons and undertake annual education on the spread of disease through the blood. The county also dictates cleanliness standards, such as not working while sick and washing hands. The county inspects tattoo parlors at least twice a year. Need for safety Steensma said the reasons that regulations are needed are not complicated. Many communicable diseases can be carried in blood, and without proper technique or hygiene, they can spread during the tattoo procedure. “The reality is, it’s a pretty simple public health issue,” he said. “These are not diseases that we just sneeze at.” Tattooing requires injection of pigments into the dermal layer of skin by puncturing the skin 80 to 150 times a second, according to a study published last summer by the International Journal of Infectious Diseases. Because tattoo instruments come into contact with blood and bodily fluids, viral and microbial infections may be transmitted if the instruments are used on more than one person without being sterilized or without proper hygiene techniques, the study said. It reported that 36 percent of Americans younger than 30 have tattoos. The study found that getting a tattoo is a “strong risk factor” for contracting Hepatitis C, and the link was even more significant for tattoos done in non-professional parlors or done by friends. Hepatitis C is a viral disease that leads to swelling of the liver. Of the people infected with the disease, most develop a chronic infection despite there being no symptoms. If the infection has been present for many years, the liver may be permanently scarred, which could require a liver transplant. Steensma said professionals such as Corah put safeguards in place, but there isn’t proper enforcement or penalties to stop fly-by-night shops. State help Corah thinks to ensure safety, the state should create a tattoo license that requires artists to receive proper training. The state should require some level of practical experience before artists are allowed to perform without supervision, he said. Now anyone with a few bucks and hours can take an online course, get a permit, drive to a local shop to purchase equipment and start tattooing. While he believes the county is doing what it can to promote health and safety, he also thinks there should be statewide requirements for a license. “The craft should be learned before you get the permit,” he said. He pointed to Missouri as a state that probably has the best law, but the Show Me State requires only 300 hours of education, while Corah’s group thinks 1,200 hours is better. Waldron said with nail technicians and tanning salon operators requiring state licenses, it is odd that tattoo artists don’t need any. She said such requirements help weed out those who would perform the art in an unsafe manner. “I feel like the state has kind of dropped the ball,” Corah said. blanka@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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