Cosmetic surgery - Beauty only as deep as our pockets

EYEBROWS are sure to be raised at the surprising results of today’s Irish Examiner-redC opinion poll on cosmetic surgery.

Reflecting the changing face of Ireland, it found that while just 1% of the population admit to having had plastic surgery, as they grow older, one out of every five people (20%) would consider having it at some point in the future.

Belying the time-worn cliche that ‘beauty’ is in the eye of the beholder, the poll indicates that, to an ever increasing degree, it resides in one’s image of one’s self.

The growing popularity of cosmetic surgery, as reflected in a marked shift of attitudes among the younger generation, makes it imperative to introduce strict legal controls so as to prevent people being exploited under the existing regime.

It is outrageous that private clinics and doctors who perform plastic surgery are not governed by the same rules as public hospitals.