Tattoos: Are They Toxic?

Science Vs

Spotify Studios

Science, Education, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 12.4K Ratings

🗓️ 7 May 2026

⏱️ 27 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Tons of us are inked — one in three American adults has a tattoo — but lately, we’ve been hearing that tattoos are actually bad for us. We’re told that they mess with our immune system and could even lead to cancer. Can that be true?! Plus, are there any upsides to having a tattoo? We talk to immunologist Dr. Santiago González, epidemiologist Dr. Christel Nielsen, and psychologist Prof. Viren Swami. Find our transcript here: https://tinyurl.com/ScienceVsTattoos (00:00) Tattoos Under Attack (02:03) Getting Under Our Skin (11:38) Do Tattoos Cause Cancer? (18:50) Should You Get Them Lasered Off? (20:53) The Benefits of Tattoos This episode was produced by Rose Rimler, with help from Blythe Terrell, Ekedi Fausther-Keeys, Meryl Horn, and Michelle Dang. Wendy Zukerman is our executive producer. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Diane Kelly. Mix and sound design by Bumi Hidaka and Bobby Lord. Music written by Bobby Lord, Bumi Hidaka, So Wylie, Emma Munger and Peter Leonard. Special thanks to all the experts we spoke with for this episode, including Dr. Signe Clemmensen, Prof. David Kriebel, Dr. John Swierk, Natacha Cingotti, Dr. Sandrine Henri, Prof. Chris Lynn, and Tricia Allen. Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, I'm Rose Rimler, filling in for Wendy Zuckerman, and this is Science Verses.
0:07.0	Today, we are talking about tattoos.
0:15.1	Tattoos are more popular than ever, but lately they've been getting some flack.
0:19.3	Online, we're hearing that tattoos are toxic.
0:22.7	What is a toxic guy tattoo?
0:24.3	Upper chest Roman numerals.
0:26.0	That is always a toxic guy.
0:27.9	Everyone knows one of those guys.
0:29.1	No, not that kind of toxic.
0:30.6	Like, poisonous.
0:32.0	It turns out tattoos are actually pretty unhealthy for us.
0:35.8	You're constantly being poisoned by the toxins.
0:38.1	If I were to go back in time with the knowledge I have now,
0:40.7	I would not have the tattoos that I have.
0:42.7	People are pointing to tattoo ink saying that it's full of stuff that you don't want in your body.
0:47.9	Every single person who has a tattoo has metals leaching into the bloodstream.
0:52.7	Mercury, lead, nickel, and other harmful heavy metals that will slowly release in your body,
0:57.6	adding to your toxic burden daily.
1:00.0	And ultimately, they say that the consequences can be serious.
1:04.5	A new study has found it could increase your risk of developing cancer.
1:09.0	21% chance of getting a malignant lymphoma with even small tattoos.
1:17.6	And if this risk is real, it would affect a lot of people.
	...

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