The European landscape of national regulations of tattoo inks and businesses.

A rising number of tattooed people in all parts of society and increasing concerns regarding potential health effects triggered the development of specific regulatory measures at the beginning of the 21st century. The first principles considering chemical safety and hygienic aspects were laid down by two resolutions of the Council of Europe, in 2003 and 2008. The applied principle of 'negative lists' of substances that should not be used in tattoo inks has subsequently been transferred to national regulations. However, surveillance data show that in particular, the chemical quality of tattoo inks is still insufficient. The reasons are, amongst others, the lack of analytical methods, the implementation of different thresholds, and the lack of awareness of distributors and producers when it comes to potential health hazards.