1. Little has changed over the centuries. In 1969 the average age of those being tattooed was 16 years3 and a bill was introduced to introduce an age limit of 18 years. the paper by Hall-Smith and Bennett (p 397) shows that the peak age of those being tattooed has not changed in 20 years.4 The current statute controlling skin piercing is the Local Government Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1982. It sets out the minimum age at which a person can be tattooed (18 years); the requirement for registration oftattoo parlours; and guidelines on hygiene. Signing a consent form is not required
2. Manwatching;Morris, D.,1982
3. The human face;Liggett, J.,1974
4. Tattoos in the late 1980s;Hall-Smith, P.; Bennett, J.;BMJ,1991
5. An outbreak of hepatitis B from tattooing;Limentani, A.E.; Elliott, L.M.; Noah, N.D.; Lamborn, J.K.;Lancet,1979