MEXICO CITY, Oct. 4(Xinhuanet)-- The Mexican Congress on Tuesday issued regulations banning young people under 18 and the mentally disabled from tattooing, piercing or"micro-pigmentation" in the body.

The ban, under the General Health Law ratified respectively by the Lower House and the Senate, makes it illegal for individuals to offer services of the kind without written permission by the parents or tutors of their clients.

The legislation said this practice-- increasingly popular among youths-- without appropriate sanitary measures, could spread infectious diseases like hepatitis C or HIV/AIDS, making the governing regulations"indispensable." Offenders will face economic punishment according to law. Enditem