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MINNEAPOLIS -- Erik Hansen rolls up his left sleeve to reveal a roughly drawn skull-and-crossbones-tattoo. A friend did it for him a few weeks ago, using a needle and ink at what Hansen calls a "poke and stick party" -- a growing trend among young people as tattoos and piercings have surged in popularity.

Teens talk about school athletes doing tattoos or piercings for one another as an initiation. "It's more fun to have a friend do it -- and it was free," says Hansen, a 20-year-old from Minneapolis.

But officials where he lives -- and in other places nationwide -- are worried. In Hennepin County, which includes Minneapolis, they've started a poster campaign in schools and neighborhood hangouts to encourage young people to have their tattoos and piercings done by licensed professionals.

"Get the good design, not a bad disease!" says one poster about tattooing. Another features a photo of an upper lip piercing with warnings about the risk of infections, blood-borne diseases and nerve damage.

The Oregon Health Licensing Office has a similar Web-based campaign, begun after several young people from the town of Klamath Falls got serious upper ear infections from piercings done at a jewelry kiosk with lax sterilization procedures. The cases -- and resulting disfiguration -- were documented in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association.

The biggest concerns include the potential spread of tetanus and hepatitis B or C if people share tattooing needles or whatever sharp objects -- pins and nails included -- they use to do their piercing.

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