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Women’s rights activists demand ban on U.K. cosmetic surgery advertising

A feminist group in the U.K. is teaming up with some well-known plastic surgeons to put pressure on the government to ban all forms of cosmetic surgery advertising, reports the Guardian. The group strongly believes that such advertising is negatively impacting public health and needs to be regulated.

"At present, 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," reads the letter published by the activists. "So these adverts affect everyone, not just individuals already considering surgery."

Related: Should cosmetic surgery ads be banned? U.K. doctors raise questions

Surprisingly, among those who signed the letter are Fazel Fatah and Rajic Grover, heads of the British Association of Aestheitc Plastic Surgeons (BAAPS) and trained plastic surgeons. Their organization attempted a similar battle back in January when they put pressure on the government to ban advertising for breast implants and tummy tucks because of the extreme under-regulation of the ads.

"Cosmetic surgery adverts are a public health hazard," Kat Banyard, director of campaign group UK Feminista, tells the Guardian. "Their sole purpose is to persuade people to undergo medically unnecessary, invasive procedures in order to boost profits. By portraying surgery as quick and easy, they recklessly trivialize risks that include post-operative infection, blood clots and, in rare cases, death."

Related: Would cosmetic surgery make you happier?

While cosmetic surgery ads are not banned in Canada, our country does have a ban on prescription drug advertising, which, according to the National Post, gets routinely broken by clinics promoting products like Botox and Latisse online.

Latisse and Botox both require a prescription because of their potential side effects, so it's easy to see why ads that only mention the products' benefits can be seen as problematic.

Last July, in response to a number of complaints about widespread marketing of prescription drugs, Health Canada requested that medical governing bodies remind doctors about the advertising ban on such products. Whether or not the doctors will follow the rules remains to be seen.

"There's nothing wrong with having information for the public," Barbara Mintzes, a pharmacology professor from the University of British Columbia, tells the National Post. "It's when that gets mixed up with selling a product that you get distortion."