EU victory for implant illness victims

[Guest guest]

September 26, 2002

Today, after a six-year campaign by local Labour Euro MP Simpson and

ish Labour Euro MP Bill , the European Commission will adopt new

proposals for health and safety regulations on breast implants.

The Commission began investigating the use of silicone implants in cosmetic

surgery in response to a campaign started by women all over Britain more

than ten years ago.

The new proposals will include a package of measures relating to:

Independent pre and post surgery counselling, with women being given advice

prior to surgery by someone other than the surgeon involved.

An 18 year age limit for cosmetic silicone breast implant surgery.

National registers of every operation carried out in each of the EU's 15

member states, with surveillance and monitoring of those undergoing surgery.

Large-scale studies to establish the health risks of implants.

Commenting on the European Commission's decision to bring forward the new

proposals, Simpson and Bill , who have championed this cause in

the European Parliament, said,

" This is a victory for the hundreds of women though out the UK and Europe

who have worked tirelessly to make sure other women do not repeat their

painful experience of implant surgery. "

" This is a watershed in our campaign, Europe has recognised that there is a

problem with silicone implants and is going to do something about it. "

" The health of thousands of British women is put at risk by an implant

industry which seems to have avoided basic standards of information and

safety regulation. "

" The European Commission must deliver on the commitment it gave earlier this

year, to do everything in its power to tighten up abuses in the silicone

industry. "

" We must have a legal age limit. What saddens us is that there is a lot of

pressure put on young people to have an ideal body and it is getting

younger. It is ridiculous that a 15 year old should be thinking about this. "

" There should also be independent counselling. British women are given pre

surgery implant counselling by plastic surgeons who make a small fortune

from these operations. No wonder the vast majority of women say they did not

know the risks involved. "

On the need for a mandatory national register of all implant operations, as

opposed to the voluntary system in place in the UK, the Labour MEPs added,

" We know that 100,000 implant operations were registered in the UK between

1993 and 1999, but we don't know the full extent of this surgery in the UK. "

" Until we have a comprehensive list of every implant operation and the

problems encountered after surgery we will never know the scale of the

problems involved. "

http://www.briansimpson.co.uk/_htm/pr/151101_3.htm

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