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Approximately 30 per cent of Americans-including 40 per cent of adults aged 18-34-have at least one tattoo. 1Tattoo ink, however, poses several health-related concerns. 2Heavy metals found in inks-including cadmium, lead, mercury, antimony, beryllium, and arsenic-have been shown to cause cancer, degenerative brain diseases, and cardiovascular and endocrine abnormalities. 3 The FDA notes that the risks involved with the application of tattoos include injection and removal problems, allergic reactions, granulomas, keloid formation, and MRI complications. 1 Tattoo needles typically go 1-2 mm into the skin to permanently suspend the ink in the matrix of the dermis.The immune system tries to clear the ink from the body; unable to do so, the ink remains stored in white blood cells until cell death, when the ink is again released into the dermal matrix and the process starts over.White blood cells can also carry ink throughout the body-tattoo ink has been found in lymph nodes and in some cases has mimicked malignancy and made staging of cancer more difficult. 4 In this Essay, we argue that greater regulatory oversight is urgently needed.Standardization and consistency in the manufacturing and use of tattoo ink would protect consumers from exposure to unknown ingredients that may cause allergic reactions, infection, or other serious illnesses.
Verity et al. (Mon,) studied this question.