Big ‘boob’ over cosmetic surgery ads

Government plans to crack down on misleading advertising for cosmetic surgery – including “buy-one-boob-job-get-one-free” – have been branded a waste of time by the industry’s trade body amid calls for an outright ad ban.
The move is in response to last year’s breast implant scandal when French company Poly Implant Prothese was forced to admit it sold faulty implants containing sub-standard silicone gel. It caused a global scare affecting 300,000 women.
The UK industry has witnessed exponential growth in recent years; in 2005, it was worth £750m, in 2010 this rose to £2.3bn and it is forecast to reach £3.6bn by 2015. But there has been widespread criticism that regulations have not kept up.
The Department of Health has said it is working with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to tackle “irresponsible marketing”. In the past this has included buy-one-get-one-free deals and competitions for men to “win a boob-job” for their girlfriends.
The ASA has already banned ads from companies advertising “Boob jobs – more affordable than you may think” for “trivialising breast enhancement surgery”.
Dr Dan Poulter, health minister for England, told the BBC: “That sort of marketing is irresponsible because it can change the way a woman looks for the rest of their life and we need to see greater responsibility from the cosmetic industry in how they advertise themselves and we’re going to clamp down.”
However, the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) claimed women will still be vulnerable and said the only solution is an outright ban on advertising for cosmetic procedures.
It also said plans for a national register of breast implants will also be a “waste of time” unless companies are forced to submit data.
Rajiv Grover, consultant plastic surgeon and president of BAAPS, said: “Whilst we’re pleased there is to be a clampdown on time-linked incentives that place undue pressure on the public, we continue to call for an outright ban on all advertising of medical procedures.
“People considering cosmetic surgery have a lot to think about: possible risks, their own expectations, the qualifications of the provider, recovery – whether there’s a Christmas sale, a two-for-one if they book by Friday… should never play a part in a sensible decision-making process.”