MOSCOW, May 24 (RAPSI) - A group of State Duma lawmakers from the Liberal-Democratic Party have proposed legislation which will require tattoo shops to warn their clients of associated health risks, a source at the lower house told RIA Novosti on Friday.

The plan is to amend the consumer rights legislation to make it mandatory for a business to warn its customers of the potential health risks associated with using their services.

According to the deputies, their initiative was triggered by issues that have arisen from services at tattoo shops - permanent decorative tattoos on women's lower backs prevent them from being given an epidural anesthetic during childbirth.

Epidural anesthetics are administered via a spinal injection. The ink used for the tattoo, or a latent infection from when the tattoo was made, may get into the spinal cord and cause paralysis. "We have records of incidents such as these," the liberal-democrats noted.

They also feel that Russians ought to be aware of the risk that tattoos pose to health in both men and women because of contaminated needles and low-quality ink.