Tattooing and high-risk behaviour among drug addicts

One hundred and seventy-five patients treated at the drug dependence outpatient ward of the Psychiatric University Clinic of Vienna were investigated in February 1990 using a standardized questionnaire which included questions concerning tattoo behaviour. The tattooing procedure, often carried out in prison and employing unsterile equipment, is a possible way of HIV-1 transmission. It is recommended that the fragmentary legislation in Austria be rewritten and made more effective. According to a ministerial order only medical doctors are allowed to procure a licence for tattooing as it is an invasive procedure. Therefore no licensed tattooing establishments controlled by public health offices exist. Their legal existence would guarantee a hygienic standard and reduce the danger of infection.