Teens & Botox: A bad fad

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This morn, Reuters reports that a consumer group, Public Citizen, is lobbying U.S. authorities to strengthen the health warning on Botox (made by Allergan) and its kin, Myobloc (Solstice Neurosciences). They would like to see a ‘black box’ warning -- think similar to the warning on cigarettes -- on boxes that contain the substance.

Bad idea. Anyone who has ever gotten Botox knows that all you see is a needle coming at your forehead. No doctor shows you a ‘Botox box.’ Though you do read about safety concerns on a sheet prepared by the doctor before you get your shots.

The group studied 180 reports submitted to the FDA and noted that the botulinum toxin had caused 16 deaths -- four of those fatalities occurred in patients under 18.

What? Who would inject a teen with Botox? Adolescence may be tough, but it can’t furrow a damn brow. I can’t imagine any Mom allowing her daughter to get Botox injections -- though I do know that Botox is used on kids with cerebral palsy to weaken spastic muscles.

I just called over to Beverly Hills Physicians and was told that ‘my daughter’ would have to be 18 to get any sort of lip filler or Botox treatment. Over at Rodeo Drive Plastic Surgery, they told me that they wouldn’t treat anyone under 21. But at Cosmetique Med Spa in Culver City, the doctor got on the line and said that he would see my ‘17-year-old daughter’ who was complaining about lines around her lips. He said it was up to me to consent to her treatment.

I bet that resourceful teens in L.A. could figure out how to get Botox. My guess is that there are plenty of crazy parents in this town who would allow it for their children too. Plastic surgery among teens, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, is on the rise too:
In 1994: 10,000 procedures were performed on adolescents.
In 2006: 244,000 procedures were performed on patients between 13 and 19 years old.

Those stats, like, totally scare me.

Photo images: shuttterstock.com; ‘Heathers,’ New World Entertainment