Think about the ink awareness campaign

HSENI and local councils joint awareness campaign on hazardous substances in inks used for tattoos and permanent make-up

The Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland (HSENI) has launched a joint initiative with local councils to measure compliance with the restriction of hazardous substances in tattoo inks and permanent make-up pigments.

Over 4,000 substances, identified to be hazardous to health, are now restricted for tattooing purposes in Northern Ireland. This will directly impact suppliers, shop owners and consumers alike. The restriction aims to ensure substances known to cause allergic reactions or even cancer are not injected into the body when there is insufficient research to determine the associated long-term health risks.

As enforcing authorities for REACH (the regulation creating the restriction), HSENI is interested in the manufacture and supply of compliant inks and pigments ensuring that NI suppliers and shop owners are complying with the new restriction. Local council Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) are focused on maintaining consumer protection through the application of compliant inks.

The purpose of the campaign is to measure supply chain compliance, not to ban tattooing or permanent make-up activities. The initiative also aims to inform and educate both those who carry out this work or undergo the service on how to identify compliant inks or pigments for tattooing purposes.

A questionnaire will be issued to tattoo and permanent make-up artists this summer to ascertain the impacts of the restriction and how it has been implemented thus far. Following analysis of the data obtained, HSENI inspectors and EHOs will carry out follow-up visits to premises to measure compliance with the changes in legislation.

Find out more about the Think about the ink! campaign.

First published 17 June 2022