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Surveys have suggested that a lack of regulation in some sectors of the cosmetic surgery market has led to the emergence of ‘cowboy’ attitudes amongst some practitioners. According to representatives from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, treatments such as Botox are currently available far too easily and offered by ‘professionals’ with rather dubious qualifications. The British government has argued that the plastic surgery industry is perfectly capable of regulating itself.

However, industry insiders are anything but convinced. Douglas McGeorge, head of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, has highlighted the lack of regulation in the sector in a recent interview. Speaking to the media, he stated:

“Basically if you wanted to have Botox administered on a park bench, you could do it, these days. To foster a ‘wild west’ approach is not only an affront to reputable professionals who follow the rules, but ultimately creates an unsafe environment for the public. Botox has to be prescribed, so you get your voucher and can take it to a practitioner to get the treatment done. However, the treatment is paid for long before any counselling takes place - before a decision can be made as to whether it is appropriate for that person.”

This lack of regulation has led to the emergence of a number of other risky practices. These include the sale of products and services via the Internet. One such product, Isolagen, became ‘available’ online to UK customers 3 months ago. This was despite the fact that the product had been banned in the United States as early as in 1999. Describing the situation, Mr. McGeorge stated:

“The public needs to be realistic about the outcomes they can expect from new cosmetic treatments, at least until solid clinical evidence of their efficacy exists.”

However, representatives from the UK government believe that self-regulation will be sufficient to prevent the sale of such products in the future. One spokesperson at the Department of Health stated that the regulation of the sector was a ‘top priority for the government:

“We have every confidence that self-regulation will result in improvements for people choosing these non-surgical cosmetic treatments. Our plans for change are driven by the need to ensure that we only regulate in cases where the reduction in risks to safety arising from public regulation clearly outweigh the costs and burdens that regulation brings. In this case we feel that we can best protect people who wish to have these treatments by using other tools at our disposal.”

This entry was posted on Monday, October 1st, 2007 at 9:43 pm and is filed under Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.