I’m a professional tattooist with 31 years experience.
Firstly, the comment that the tattoo is ‘much more serious than the alcohol’ is pretty silly considering the huge problem (& it is a problem!) of teenage alcohol abuse, but this is supposedly ‘alright’?
In truth, both issues are important.
Secondly, you an bet the lad had some fake ID…an internet trawl throws up loads!
As does the ‘change to the tattooing of Minors Act that claims parents can give consent for their underage child to be tattooed’.
This is not the case & I’ve not managed to find this on the internet, but I’m 50, not a teenager cruising the net & wanting a tattoo!
Thirdly, if you are that upset by an underage tattoo, you HAVE to make a complaint/statement to the police for any action to be taken, (it‘s not the remit of the Environmental Health dept)…& this will be weighed up on a cost/benefit to the public basis.
The punishment on conviction (if it ever got to court) for the errant tattooist is a fine, it used to be £50, but has been changed to a sum on the F3 sliding scale, so the lad’s appearance/background etc will be taken into consideration as well as the tattooists previous convictions for the same offence…if it’s a 1st offence, that fine will in all likelihood still be £50!
Also, it’s a defence for the tattooist to claim the lad looked old enough & he had no reason to doubt his age…what does the lad look like when out & about with his mates getting up to no good?!
Also, if he had fake ID, the tattooist has no case to answer & the lad would have filled in a tattooist liability exclusion document or consent form, the tattooist will have this form with the lads details on it (these have to be kept for a minimum of a year)...unless it was a fake name etc. then it’s a case of proving that particular tattooist was actually responsible for doing the tattoo, it’ll be the lads word against the tattooists, & that’ll be difficult to prove.
And if indeed it can be proven by the tattooist that the lad produced fake ID, then the lad is in a heap of trouble himself & the parent/guardian could be sued by the tattooist.
Finally, the comment about HIV is a standard uninformed scaremongering one. There are & have been NO reported cases of HIV transmission by tattooing in the UK. (as opposed to the 7 via dentists) as a professional tattooist employs cross contamination & infection control, uses a high temperature high pressure steam autoclave steriliser & is actually covered by a raft of legislation to comply with.
And as for ‘not changing needles’ …as pre made, pre sterilised, pre packaged needles cost around 10p each, do you really think we’re gonna be re-using old needles?
This practice is the preserve of the unregistered tattooist working illegally from his kitchen or bedroom & not one with a registered studio.