New Jersey Bill Would Prohibit Botox for Minors
Most people were shocked by news reports that a mother had been giving her 8-year-old daughter Botox injections to enhance the little girl’s chances of winning beauty pageants. The woman is reported to have been paid thousands of dollars to tell her story on several talk shows. Now embattled in a child-custody battle with child welfare, the woman the press have dubbed the “Botox Mommy” has repudiated her story, claiming it was all a publicity-seeking hoax. While it’s still unclear whether this is another Balloon-Boy hoax or the woman actually did give her child Botox injections, the incident outraged the public and has led to the introduction of a bill in the New Jersey Assembly that would make it illegal for minors to receive Botox injections unless the procedure is deemed medically necessary by a physician.
Citing a study by the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) that Botox treatments among teens had doubled between 2008 and 2009 to more than 12,000, the New Jersey bill proposes to ban the cosmetic use of Botox for people under the age of 18. (According to the ASAPS 2010 report, only 2,158 patients under age 18 received Botox injections in 2010 and the total number of people under 18 who received any type of cosmetic injectable was 4,265.). While Botox treatments for minors are already restricted by the federal government, the New Jersey bill would tighten those restrictions by requiring physicians to document the medical reason for administering Botox treatments to a minor.
As we have discussed here before, parents must carefully consider the potential risks and benefits of allowing their child or teen to undergo any type of cosmetic surgery. Parents, with the child, when appropriate, should have a frank discussion with an experienced board-certified cosmetic surgeon and listen carefully to his expert recommendations before making a decision.
** Note: 2010 statistics cited below in paragraph 2 were taken from the 2010 Age Distribution for Cosmetic Procedures chart on page 10 of the ASAPS report.