Plastic Surgery: Should Advertising For It Be Illegal?

“Boob Jobs. Same Day Surgery. Get More, Pay Less!”

Ads like this one, displayed at bus stops in London in late 2011, will be banned in the UK if a new campaign spearheaded by women’s rights advocates there succeeds. This week UK Feminista, a nonprofit dedicated to gaining equality for women, and a group of prominent plastic surgeons issued a petition calling on the government to make cosmetic surgery ads illegal. Feminista founder Kat Banyard posted an Op-Ed in The Independent,, and the groups jointly published an open letter in The Guardian that made three main arguments: The ads present a public health risk because they “recklessly trivialize invasive surgical procedures;” they undermine body confidence and their prevalence makes them impossible to avoid. While the risks of certain elective procedures have been well-documented (see the public outcry over the death of Kanye West’s mother following cosmetic surgery) and the aesthetic they promote called into question (who can forget a then-23-year-old Heidi Montag’s ten procedures in a single day?), whether or not the government should intervene in advertising for plastic surgery is up for debate.

The letter published in The Guardian suggests that making plastic surgery ads illegal would be equivalent to existing legislation that prohibits advertising prescription drugs to the public in the UK. A less extreme option might involve allowing the ads but requiring a government agency’s oversight and forcing advertisers to include a warning about the risks. In the United States, one of only two countries in the world where advertising prescription drugs directly to the public is legal, the FDA polices ads for accuracy and requires that the most significant potential side effects (though not all) be named.

But Feminista argues that it’s not just the content of the ads that’s problematic; the real damage may be in the ad placement. According to The Guardian, a 2011 survey by UK Feminista of four women’s magazines -- publications filled with articles supposedly encouraging positive body image and self confidence -- found that between January and June, Cosmopolitan featured 32 ads for plastic surgery, Marie Claire featured 16, Elle 12, and Vogue 10.

Feminista and the surgeons allied with them also claim that the ads are ubiquitous -- their letter argues “people have no choice but to be exposed to the aggressive marketing tactics of some cosmetic clinics, whether they be in public spaces, in magazines, on the internet or on TV. So these adverts affect everyone, not just individuals already considering surgery.”

But Dr. Robert Lefever, a physician in the UK, argues that this attack on private businesses advertising their services unfairly robs patients of the agency to make their own decisions. He wrote in The Daily Mail: "patients, claiming the right to choose what they want, also have a responsibility to choose wisely. These patients should consult their own doctors first of all." Taking a stance that seemed to embrace FDA-style regulation of cosmetic surgery ads, he wrote:

My personal belief is that all doctors and clinics should be free to continue to advertise their services. But this belief comes with two major caveats. They should only be allowed to do so provided that they stay within the code of practice of the Advertising Standards Authority and they should be made to pay for the consequences of unreliability.

What do you think?

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Should advertising for plastic surgery be banned?

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Comments

[BeesKness]

12:23 AM on 03/19/2012

They shouldn't be banned but they should have a buyer beware notice on them. A lot of 20 something women are getting tons of facial plastic surgery lately it seems to be a new trend, and a majority of it looks horrid these girls end up looking about 10 to 20 yrs older than they are and un natural and alienish. I think pictures of women who have had the procedures they want done should be shown to them so they can see what they will actually end up looking like. You can bring a pic of a celebrity or model to the surgeon and say you want that look but you are not gonna get it.

[IAmElf]

11:11 PM on 03/18/2012

I don't think they should be banned. I keep seeing dental ads, and other medical ads all the time, so it'd be unfair to plastic surgeons and clinics to make the ads illegal. With that being said, I too think plastic surgeries are WAY more popular than they should. I'm not against cosmetic surgeries, but the popularity of them is just...well, scary. And I'm actually more annoyed that it's always a woman on the ad, and you can never see an ad like this on a men's magazine. What do this tell women exactly? Especially teen girls?

I think women should keep sending complaint letters to magazines, advertisers, and plastic surgery clinics to keep the number of these ads low at least. But again, banning them is too much and not fair to plastic surgery clinics.

[littlepuffycloud]

05:10 PM on 03/18/2012

Ban cosmetic surgery, viagra, attorneys and prescription drug companies and people would be a lot happier.

[BlueGinger]

11:15 AM on 03/18/2012

Today's obsession with perfection is truly killing us...why is it almost the norm now to be treated as though your body is flawed, horrible and must be fixed? These ads are just encouragement. It's really sickening that they use people's insecurities against them to make a profit. If these plastic surgeons want me to believe for one second that I need some surgery to complete me, they are dead wrong and they aren't getting my money.

[edtastic]

11:18 PM on 03/17/2012

Body image is about vanity. We don't need to outlaw things that make vain people feel insecure or provide them with means to improve their appearance.

We need to recognize the vanity in the people around us and call them out on it. If you want to obsess about how you look then we should remind you it is a vice with painful consequences. We don't need to feed your ego by putting people on TV that look like you or tell you lies about how beautiful we think you are, when in fact we know there are many people who are far more attractive. We should be telling you to get over yourself and get out of the mirror, rather than attacking the world for making you feel ugly.

[JManson]

09:00 PM on 03/17/2012

You know, for a movement that claims to be about freedom and equality, Feminism sure likes to try to ban things and censor people's free speech. Maybe democracy and a free market are too much for them to handle?

[ignacio sanabria]

06:49 PM on 03/17/2012

Cosmetics Ad: “Boob Jobs. Same Day Surgery. Get More, Pay Less!” Wondering why a woman would like to have more than two boobs.

[legaleagle4]

01:17 PM on 03/16/2012

Should plastic surgery be banned? No. Should ads be banned? Absolutely. Cigarette ads are banned and I don't see them suffering. People who need plastic surgery for medical reasons (burn victims, etc.) should coordinate via their doctors.

[laurenproof12]

12:41 PM on 03/16/2012

Its a business, of course they should market themselves. Its up to us as human beings to have control.

[Andrea in the City]

12:30 PM on 03/16/2012

Also, so if they are saying that all advertizements aimed at women that are for products/services intended to enhanced a woman's looks, why stop at cosmetic surgery. How about hair color ads? Aren't those telling women that their natural hair isn't beautiful enough, they should change? What about skin care Ads? What about Crest White Strips, telling women that they must have white teeth inorder to be valued? See how ridiculous this is....

[Andrea in the City]

12:27 PM on 03/16/2012

Cosmetic surgery is not illegal so it should not be illegal to advertize for it. And funny, all these "women advocate" groups always bring up the Heidi's and other extreme cases of plastic surgery when discussing this topic. When in reality, the vast majority of women getting these procedures are just average, everyday women. Not plastic surgery addicts. You probably encounter tummy tucks, boob jobs, and lipo everyday without even knowing. I got a breast augmentation 2 years ago. I'm not horribly insecure, I wasn't forced by society or an Ad I saw to get the procedure. I did it for myself. I'm an intelligent professional who made my own choice. And when I was in the waiting room pre-surgery there were 4 other women there to get cosmetic procedures. They were the Moms you'd see at soccer practice, or your accountant.

[FLECKENSTEIN44]

12:18 PM on 03/16/2012

of course not. plastic surgery is a buisness if somebody is willing to pay money for it then they should advertise.

[doquestioneverything]

12:12 PM on 03/16/2012

Surgeons who make a fortune by exploiting female self hatred and low self esteem should be called what they are: disgusting individuals who will stoop at anything to make a buck.

[laurenproof12]

12:42 PM on 03/16/2012

You're silly. just becasue someone has plastic surgery doesn't mean they have low self esteem or hatred. Haha...too funny.

[Shin Shin Haze]

11:34 AM on 03/16/2012

It's a free market-- people should be allowed to advertise their products and services. Cosmetic surgery is not illegal, nor is this an issue of moral authority and judgment upon those who purchase elective procedures. The consumer should be expected to be his/her own advocate as in every other advertiser-consumer relationship. One should be expected to understand that in any instance where one is being encouraged to purchase goods or services, the purveyor of said goods and services will of course accentuate the positives. It is not an advertisers job to babysit-- besides, cosmetic surgeons are REQUIRED BY LAW to fully explain all risks and potential complications of a procedure in a consultation.

[Sistagirl Young]

09:07 AM on 03/16/2012

Why? Bannin' ads ain't gonna stop nothin', If a person is of a mind to get a procedure they gonna proceed whether there are ads or not. I was gonna get rhinoplasty...but then I decided I didn't wanna look like a rhino. See? Life.