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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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