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TRENTON
- The New Jersey Public Health Council today approved the
state's first-ever regulations that will increase the licensing
and governing of facilities that offer body art procedures,
including tattoos, permanent lip or eyebrow coloring and body
piercing, making these procedures safer for the public.
The
regulations, approved by the Public Health Council as part of
the State Sanitary Code on a unanimous (7-0) vote, will go into
effect upon their publication in the New Jersey Register. The
rule is expected to be included in the publication's February
19, 2002 edition.
To
comply with the new body art procedures, individuals wishing to
locate or construct facilities that will provide permanent
cosmetics, tattooing or ear or body piercing to the public must
now obtain prior written approval from local health departments.
In addition, all body art facilities will be required to adhere
to strict health and safety standards, including sterilization
and disinfection procedures of re-usable instruments when
performing body art procedures.
"With
the passing of these regulations, New Jersey residents can be
confident that body art facilities will now be held to proper
safety and health standards," said Assistant Commissioner
and State Epidemiologist Eddy Bresnitz, MD.
The
regulations will also require body art establishments to obtain
the written consent of a parent or legal guardian for all
individuals under the age of 18 prior to receiving any body art
procedure. In addition to the written consent of a parent or
legal guardian for minors, all individuals are required to
provide photo identification prior to receiving a body art
procedure.
Additionally,
the body art regulations establish uniform standards for the
training and licensing requirements of body art owners,
operators and apprentices. The DHSS included this provision
because prior to implementing the body art regulations, no
standard existed for the public or the body art industry to
determine whether individuals who owned or operated body art
facilities had received adequate training.
"These
new training and licensing requirements will significantly raise
the current standards among body art professionals and provide
the public with an additional measure of confidence when
deciding to have a procedure done for themselves or a family
member," said Dr. Bresnitz.
Before
the passage of today's regulations, there were no such statewide
rules to address the public's concern regarding body piercing,
tattooing and permanent cosmetics. The regulations were proposed
as a result of concerns raised by parents of minor children, who
wanted them to protect the health and safety of minors with
regards to body art procedures.
In
crafting the rules, the DHSS sought and received input from body
art providers and from the local agencies that will enforce its
provisions. The results of this consensus building process are
sound, reasonable rules that will protect public health, said
Dr. Bresnitz.
The
Public Health Council is responsible for the State Sanitary Code
and advises the New Jersey Commissioner of Health and Senior
Services on matters related to the preservation and improvement
of public health.
Additional
information about the new Body Art Procedures may be obtained by
calling the Department's Consumer and Environmental Health
Services at (609) 588-3124 or by visiting the website at www.state.nj/health
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