CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY –The city government is poised to regulate tattoo shops due to mounting health concerns.
This was bared by Councilor Ma. Lourdes Gaane, who sounded alarm bells on health hazards posed by unsanitary tattoo procedures in the city.
Gaane, health committee chair, said they recently conducted a random inspection on tattoo shops in the downtown area and found that the businesses did not observe safe and proper disposal of used needles.
Gaane, a physician by profession, noted that the sharing of needles is one of the modes of transmission of HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus).
Also, Gaane said that she and her colleagues in the committee, Councilors George Goking and Suzette Daba, found out that the used needles were merely thrown in bins along with other household trash.
“These are hazardous and cannot be kept in standard trash bins. Since they do not have the tools to destroy the needles, they just collect and keep them in empty mineral bottles,” she said.
She added: “This is also true for the used globes, paper towels, ink caps and leftover ointments. These are all considered infectious waste that must be separated from other garbage.”
Gaane said a measure to regulate the tattoo business in the city is now being discussed at the committee level. (Mark D. Francisco/PNA)
