The advertising watchdog has launched a new clamp down on ‘unscrupulous’ adverts which promote potentially dangerous cosmetic surgery abroad.
Working alongside the Department of Health and the Foreign Office, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is targeting a “growing number” of foreign operators using social media to entice Britons into undergoing potentially dangerous procedures such as eye colour changing surgery, “butt lifts” – enlarged buttocks – ” breast enlargement, and teeth veneers.
The ASA says it has discovered hundreds of foreign operators are breaking advertising rules and using exploitative techniques to “lure” Britons abroad for treatment.
This can include calling on new mothers to undergo surgical “mummy makeovers”, offering pressurised “limited time only” price deals, and claiming procedures are “100 percent safe” when they are not.
It believes many of operators are also fronting cowboy practices that can leave patients with serious problems, including blindness, death and lost teeth.
It has launched a new drive to warn Britons to be cautious about signing up for potentially risky treatments abroad.
A spokesperson said the new clampdown is designed to come alongside the warmer summer weather when people “want to look good” for the beach or a holiday.
He said: “We are seeing increasing numbers of operators who are not complying to our rules and growing numbers of people going abroad for surgery. Many adverts are luring unwitting customers to potentially unsafe practices by exploiting people’s insecurities while not being open about risks.
“Cosmetic surgery is never risk free and is a serious decision. People are entitled to do it but there are horror stories that happen when people go to substandard clinics.”
He added: “We know of a patient who bled to death from a Brazilian butt lift and other cases of lost teeth or patients needing extensive dental work or more realignment surgery after treatment. We also know there are adverts promoting eye colour changing surgery for cosmetic reasons – this can only be done in the UK for medical reasons and carries a risk of blindness. Consumers need to know what they are getting into and we are working with other government agencies to clamp down.”
One of the most alarming recent Tik Tok trends is eye colour changing surgery, known as keratopigmentation.
This has been promoted by influencers posting TikTok videos of themselves undergoing surgery to permanently change their eye colour – often from brown to blue or green.
Alex Day, a consultant eye surgeon and ophthalmologist at Moorfields private eye hospital in London, said problems can emerge in the months that follow, with potential complications including blindness.
“These are people that have healthy eyes, they have no problems with their eyes, and then they go and have a procedure purely for cosmetic reasons.”
He said the procedure can lead to: “serious eye complications.”
He added: “With iris implants these may include glaucoma, cataracts, inflammation, infection, and even permanent vision loss”