As you’re walking down the mall you come across a tattoo shop. The excitement begins to rise in your bones, with the thought of being a rebel against the ideals of your parents and elders. “Hey, why not get a tattoo?” you suggest to your friend. Then you both walk in with sixty bucks, and look at the typical pictures of fairies and skulls. By the time you exit the tattoo shop, you have a beautiful tattoo just below your belly button, without your knowledge, you also have HIV because the artist, who buzzed the needle onto your naked skin, did not clean his materials first with an autoclave.

Nowadays, people have tattoos plastered all over their bodies, in various places such as the lower back, wrists, belly button, and other areas. This may not always be a wise idea due to the fact that there is a growing epidemic of needle sharing of tattoo artists.

“Getting a tattoo might be dangerous because, like I said before, if the needle is not sterilized then one might be at risk of getting HIV. Plus it is painful,” Catherine Polo, senior, said.

In the mid 1990’s, the rising demand for tattoo services increased the number of skin artists around the country. There are currently an average of 15,000 tattoo shops in the United States.

According to the Harris Poll, by the summer of 2003, 40 million people had at least one tattoo. The same poll stated that 14% of Republicans had a tattoo, 18% of Democrats had a tattoo and 12% of Independents had a tattoo.

According to the March 2nd, 2006 edition of The New York Times, Britney Spears has a tattoo in another language that is supposed to signify the word “mysterious,” but in actuality says “strange”. This reiterates the fact that just walking into a tattoo shop, with no idea what you want on your body for the rest of your life, is not an intelligent idea.

“Yes, [I have heard of needle sharing between tattoo artists]. I think that’s why you should do the research before getting a tattoo,” Melissa Mesa, senior, said.

Before having the needle grace your skin, be sure to get the tattoo you want and the tattoo you wouldn’t mind your mother seeing.