Bunte Tattoos: Machen sie mich wirklich krank? | reporter

🤷‍♀️ Almost one in ten Germans has a tattoo. Among 16- to 35-year-olds, it's almost one in four – including reporter Maike. But are tattoos actually safe for your health? No, says the EU, which wants to ban two pigments: Green 7 and Blue 15. According to tattoo artists, the danger is not scientifically proven. However, one thing is certain: no one knows what the ingredients and pigments do to the body in the long term and what risks exist, as the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture and Stiftung Warentest (a German consumer organization) warn. The funk format "reporter" ended on December 31, 2023. We have therefore deactivated the comment function for further comments. If you have any feedback or suggestions, please feel free to contact us via our contact form: https://www.funk.net/kontakt 🎶 Music: Solar Bears - Cosmic Runner Moderat - A New Error 🎨 Tattoo ink manufacturers are obligated to produce safe inks. This means they cannot use any substances prohibited under the German Tattoo Ink Ordinance (TVO). Manufacturers like Ralf Michel must register their inks with the Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety and list all ingredients – however, this is not checked again in a laboratory. After registration, an independent expert reviews the inks and then issues a so-called "declaration of conformity." Health authorities only conduct random tests on the inks. Consumer products that have received negative feedback are collected in the so-called "RAPEX" list – tattoo artists and clients can use this list to check whether the tattoo inks they use have already been tested or reported. The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA), commissioned by the EU, has examined how tattoo inks can be made safer. ECHA proposes banning the pigments Blue 15 and Green 7, as well as 4,000 other substances that may currently be used in tattoo inks. Many of these substances are already banned in some cosmetic products. The report addresses carcinogenic, mutagenic, and reprotoxic substances, as well as those that can cause skin irritation or allergies. ECHA's recommendation is based on scientific data, but not on targeted research into the actual effects of tattoo inks on the body. The pigment Blue 15 is not banned in all cosmetics, but only in hair dyes. ECHA argues that there is evidence that Blue 15 increases the risk of bladder cancer with regular use as a hair dye. However, a study from the Netherlands found no such link – you can find the link below. Dr. Ines Schreiver is head of the junior research group on tattoo ink research at the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) and conducts research on the safety of tattoo inks. She criticizes the lack of proper approval for tattoo inks, arguing that approval would require—similar to pharmaceuticals—prior investigation into the effects of each substance on the body. The sheer number of ingredients used further complicates matters. Moreover, the ingredients are often mislabeled, and the ink bottles contain entirely different substances than those listed on the label. ... ☝️ Important Links: https://www.safer-tattoo.de https://echa.europa.eu/de/-/echa-is-w... https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22581... https://www.bfr.bund.de/cm/350/bfr-2-... https://www.tattoofarben.info/de https://www.test.de/presse/pressemitt... 🎞 Team: Maike Jecke, Maik Arnold, Jens Krange, Oliver Klar, Susanne Themlitz, Jörg Schröder, Timothy McLeash, Lisa Schöffel, Andreas Josef 👉 You can also find us here: Twitter:   / reporter   Facebook:   / reporter.offiziell   Instagram:   / reporter.offiziell   Snapchat:   / 3246991136   👉 #reporter is part of #funk: YouTube:    / funkofficial   funk Web App: http://go.funk.net Facebook:   / funk   ☝️ Opinion and subjectivity are often everything: But we value research, transparency, impartiality, and relevance. We are courageous, non-ideological, and open-minded. Others form opinions. We do journalism. A new episode is released every Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. 🎥 reporter is produced by the Current Affairs Television department of WDR for funk. Funk is a joint offering of the Association of Public Broadcasting Corporations in the Federal Republic of Germany (ARD) and the Second German Television (ZDF). http://go.funk.net/impressum