B.C., Alberta crack down on cosmetic surgery prizes

[HA]

B.C., Alberta crack down on cosmetic surgery prizes
Last Updated Wed, 24 Nov 2004 13:59:18 EST

CALGARY - Cosmetic surgeons in Alberta and British Columbia are no longer allowed to offer their services as contest prizes.

The colleges of physicians and surgeons in both provinces recently introduced new guidelines to prohibit discount coupons, gift certificates or giveaways for medical surgeons.

The decision came partly in response to makeover contests that offer various surgical procedures as a prize.

FROM AUG. 26, 2004: B.C. surgeons put extreme makeover prize into question

This summer, an Extraordinary Makeover contest in British Columbia began by offering a promotional giveaway for one cosmetic dentistry specialist.

In the end, it awarded two people more than $100,000 in various surgical and other prizes.

"I guess I'm a little surprised, I thought that perhaps we were doing something good here," said Holly Carinci, a Vancouver-based public relations consultant who organized the contest.

"For someone to wish to win this is not something that the College of Physicians and Surgeons should be worrying themselves about."

The contests prompted regulatory bodies in B.C., and Alberta to draw up new guidelines on how surgeons advertise their services.

"Anything that makes that exchange a commodity, a buy/sell, in our view erodes the image of the profession," said Dr. Bob Burns, registrar of the Alberta college.

Under the new guidelines, winners can earn cash that can be applied to surgery.

Trevor Tomanik of Calgary offered a free breast augmentation to the winner of a contest at his nightclub. He said the winner was so excited that she almost passed out.

Because of the rule change, she walked away with money instead of a gift certificate for the surgery. Tomanik views it as an improvement, since now the winner can choose her own doctor.

The new guidelines do not allow surgeons to give their services away, but both colleges noted discounts are permitted on compassionate grounds.

Written by CBC News Online staff
http://www.cbc.ca/story/science/national/2004/11/24/makeovers041124.html

 

[David Baxter PhD]

Yikes! I'm glad to hear that they condemned this... it sounds just a little too close to saying, "Look, we all know there's something ugly about you -- now just admit it and come in and surgically fix it" -- I'd say there are already enough messages like that in the media.

 

[HA]

I was glad to see some regulations around this whole scary cosmetic surgery business. A few days before I saw this article I was having my hair done and reading the magazines and came across a new one titled "New Beauty" or something like that. It was a cosmetic surgery mag that looks like your typical womens fashion magazine! I could not believe it! That goes beyond healthy skin care etc.

 

[Cat Dancer]

Yikes! I'm glad to hear that they condemned this... it sounds just a little too close to saying, "Look, we all know there's something ugly about you -- now just admit it and come in and surgically fix it" -- I'd say there are already enough messages like that in the media.

How does one deal with that? The whole "you have to be perfect to fit into society" thing? I was watching tv a few nights ago and there was a commercial for a show about selecting a swimsuit model for Sports Illustrated. And they were telling this girl that her face was not shaped right or something like that. And it showed some of the girls crying and they looked almost perfect to me. It made me think that I should just go crawl under a rock and never come out. I prettymuch live like that anyway so I won't impose my imperfect self on the world. I know this is weird thinking, but I can't be the only one who thinks this way.

 

[ThatLady]

No, hon, you're not the only one who thinks that way. Sadly, the idea that one must be Perfect (according to some origin-unknown idea of what Perfect is) is infecting people at a younger and younger age. Even little kids, who used to just have fun, now worry about whether they're Perfect enough.

Thinking about it, there are so many people who can serve as models for why this concept is ludicrous. Eleanor Roosevelt comes to mind immediately. Was she physically beautiful? Not likely, I suppose. Yet, did it make her less intelligent? Did it make her less impressive as a person? Not to me, it didn't. Stephen Hawking isn't the most attractive person I've ever seen, either. Does that lessen him or his gifts to the world of physics? Sammy Davis, Jr. was a funny-looking fellow, but there was one heck of a lot of talent rolled up in that little package, eh? How about Mother Teresa? Anybody talking about how beautiful she was on the outside? Does it matter, considering how beautiful she was on the inside?

Each of the people I mentioned fit into society just dandily. They brought something to the table that transcended physical beauty. So, my dear, do you. So do all of us. We bring ourselves, warts and all. Besides, the good thing about "warts" is that if you let yours show, others don't feel so badly about theirs that they have to go out and have the darned things removed!

 

[HA]

Each of the people I mentioned fit into society just dandily. They brought something to the table that transcended physical beauty. So, my dear, do you. So do all of us. We bring ourselves, warts and all. Besides, the good thing about "warts" is that if you let yours show, others don't feel so badly about theirs that they have to go out and have the darned things removed!

So true, ThatLady! And the wart part....LOL

 

[Cat Dancer]

Each of the people I mentioned fit into society just dandily. They brought something to the table that transcended physical beauty. So, my dear, do you. So do all of us. We bring ourselves, warts and all. Besides, the good thing about "warts" is that if you let yours show, others don't feel so badly about theirs that they have to go out and have the darned things removed!

How do you find what you have to give? The thing that goes beyond physical beauty?

 

[ThatLady]

Heh. You have yourself to give, Janet. You have your "warts" to share. You have your experiences to share. You have your love to share. You have your happy moments, and your sad ones, to share. You have a caring heart to share.

Remember, even if the things you bring to the table aren't all sweetness, beauty and light, they are still useful to others. If nothing else, they make it clear that none of us is an island. We laugh together, and we cry together. We all have bad times. We all have "warts".

 

[Cat Dancer]

Heh. You have yourself to give, Janet. You have your "warts" to share. You have your experiences to share. You have your love to share. You have your happy moments, and your sad ones, to share. You have a caring heart to share.

Remember, even if the things you bring to the table aren't all sweetness, beauty and light, they are still useful to others. If nothing else, they make it clear that none of us is an island. We laugh together, and we cry together. We all have bad times. We all have "warts".

If I could just go back and make different choices and change things I could be someone and make some kind of difference, but I think I've gotten into something that is just too hard to figure out. Too hard to fix. I think there's nothing left of me. I don't know. I just feel so confused today and all mixed up and like I can't figure out where to start sorting out this mess.

 

[ThatLady]

Janet, hon, it's always hardest to sort out a mess while you're surrounded by the mess you're trying to sort. The mess, itself, confuses and befuddles you. In order to sort it out, you really need to get away from it for a bit so you can view it from a bit of distance. As long as you remain in an environment where every move you make, and every word you say, is demeaned and devalued, you'll continue to experience these vascillations between enlightenment and confusion. That makes it really difficult for you to make the decisions you need to make to get your life on the track you want it on.

There isn't a person on these boards that cannot say how wonderful it would be if we could just go back and change this choice, or that choice, that we made. Making mistakes is part of living and learning. We all experience the same feelings. Sometimes, if we let them, they can serve as encouragement to move forward with the good things we want to do with, and for, ourselves.