N.B. tattoo industry needs regulation: piercer

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N.B. tattoo industry needs regulation: piercer
June 14, 2010
CBC News

Customers could be more confident about the safety of New Brunswick tattoo parlours if the industry were regulated, according to a Fredericton piercer.

"There are no standards right now in tattoo shops," says Jeremy Daly.

"Tattooing and piercing is getting a lot more popular these days, and it would put the public at ease knowing that extra knowledge that tattoo shops are safe."

Tattoo artists and piercers are around needles and blood every day, and many aren't trained.

Calls for the regulation of tattoo parlours in Nova Scotia have given New Brunswick tattoo artists and piercers hope for regulations in their province.

In New Brunswick, anyone can do tattooing or piercings, and they can be done anywhere.

Daly said he supports industry rules as a way to let customers know which shops are safe, and which ones aren't.

'Anything that can put the public at ease is going to help our industry.'— Jeremy Daly, piercer
If Daly were working in Alberta, the rules would be much different. Alberta's tattoo industry regulations require regular inspections of tattoo shops, and the owners are required to have a lengthy list of safety equipment.

The organizers of the Maritime Tattoo Festival in May called for industry regulations in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

Daly said he and his co-workers are taught how to sterilize their equipment, take care of fresh tattoos and piercings, and deal with the risk of AIDS and hepatitis.

But he said his shop loses clients to less qualified tattoo artists who are less expensive.

Daly said the public deserves to have as much information about the industry as possible, whether it is through government regulation or other means.

"Anything that can put the public at ease is going to help our industry," Daly said.

"And even if it isn't a government regulatory system, somebody out there should be making a standardization and coming into shops and saying, 'OK,' and putting their little brand mark on our door. That would be fine with us. Anything that gives the public the extra information."

Safety a concern

Anthony Brooks said safety and cleanliness were both factors when he picked who would give him an armband tattoo.

"I watch them open the needles, and watch them get the needles out, all that stuff to make sure," Brooks said.

Daly said regulating the industry would weed out unsafe parlours.

A New Brunswick Department of Health spokeswoman said in an email that Health Canada has created a set of infection control guidelines for people in the industry, and the province could use powers in the Public Health Act to protect the public.

"While this does not have specific regulations for tattoo parlours, it does give public health officials authority to investigate and control any public health concerns regarding the transmissions of disease or health hazards associated with these types of establishments," said Marie-Andrée Bolduc.

Daly said he believes the Department of Health has been reluctant to impose rules on the tattoo industry in the past because it had been linked to groups the government would not want to be associated with.

"We're here to tell you that that's not true anymore. We're professionals, we're artists and we want to make people look good, that's our goal.

"I believe because of the past affiliations of tattoo shops and groups that the government doesn't want anything to do with it. They want to wash their hands, they think it's going to be too much hassle."