I was with @DrMichaelBrooks of the @NewStatesman right up until ...

?which was not very long then:

Time to ban breast implants

Michael Brooks

[...]

Cosmetic surgery is nothing more than an industrial-scale scientific experiment. The augmentation of women?s breasts began as an application of chemical wizardry, ushered in on the gleaming wings of postwar science. The surgeon?s hypothesis has been that a problem of self-esteem can be fixed using polymers and medical technology. This didn?t always go well ? in the 1950s and 1960s, women were given augmentations that sometimes went so wrong that they needed mastectomies. Now, though, the results are in.

Next month, for example, the journal Psychological Medicine will publish a study of almost 1,600 Norwegian adolescent girls who were monitored over a 13-year period. They were asked about their satisfaction with their personal appearance, sexual behaviour, drug use, behavioural issues and attitudes towards cosmetic surgery. The finding is that women who use cosmetic surgery do not have lower opinions of their general attractiveness than women who do not opt for surgery. However, they display more symptoms of depression and anxiety, use more illicit drugs and have stronger histories of self-harm and suicide attempts. And the surgery is likely to make things worse.

Post-surgery, these women became more depressed and anxious, with greater alcohol consumption and more problems with eating disorders. As the researchers conclude: ?A series of mental health symptoms predict cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic surgery does not in turn seem to alleviate such mental health problems.?

?etc; it?s a interesting read, and my sense is very sympathetic for a bunch of reasons that I won?t explain, for the simple reason that it?s not my opinion (nor my body) that is at stake. Informed risks are a part of life; if inadequate information is given then that is an issue, as-is cost to others to some extent.

But banning stuff sets a really bad precedent.

Categories: miscellaneous ranting.

By alecm ? 2012/02/17 at 11:14

Source: http://dropsafe.crypticide.com/article/6106

unemployment rate unemployment rate stephen hawking jesse ventura keri russell drew barrymore bill o brien