Aussie government considers ban on teen cosmetic surgery

Tuesday October 30, 2007 ins: Cosmetic Surgery News Tag(s):

The State Government of Australia is considering banning the practice of cosmetic surgery for plastic surgery patients under 18. This transpired when the government became alarmed at the increase in the number of teenagers undergoing cosmetic surgery and using tanning solariums.

Health experts are concerned about the growing evidence that more and more teenagers were going under the knife in order to improve their appearance, specifically their breast size and body contours. Among the most commonly requested cosmetic surgery procedures are liposuction, breast enhancement and rhinoplasty.

Moreover, experts have also noted that a popular Australian magazine for young girls recently published results of its survey of 4000 girls aged 11 to 18. Results reveal that a quarter of these young women said they would like to get plastic surgery if they could. Also, two percent of the girls surveyed said that they have already gone under the knife.

It is believed that this growing trend of teens wanting plastic surgery is a response to the pressures that young people face in order to look perfect in an increasingly competitive world. Society is now more obsessed with beauty and celebrity and teens can't help but go with the current and strive for perfection.

The fact that young folks are so engrossed with looking their best that they tend to forget that cosmetic surgery is not like getting their nails or hair done. Cosmetic surgery carries a degree of risk and that they should be aware of what they are getting into before they even think about going under the knife.

As a response to this worrying trend, the government had released a Discussion Paper on a range of issues relating to non-therapeutic use of cosmetic surgery on children and young people under 18. This paper is limited to procedures that are done on healthy adolescents for cosmetic purposes and this includes rhinoplasty, breast enlargement, liposuction, facelift, tummy tuck, chemical peels, laser hair removal, and the like.

The Discussion Paper which is entitled “Have Your Say: Children and Young People Using Cosmetic Surgery and Solarium in Queensland,”also includes the use of solariums for cosmetic tanning purposes. A controversy came out concerning solariums when a 26-year-old Claire Oliver died after developing melanoma, caused by using a solarium.

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