"Two years after Sir Liam Donaldson, the Government's chief medical officer, warned of a risk of permanent injury caused by the treatments, including transmission of hepatitis and vCJD, ministers have asked the cosmetic surgery industry to set up a system of self-regulation to "further improve standards"."

"The announcement was attacked by critics who said it did not go far enough. Which?, the consumer magazine, said it was "disappointing" that the Government had decided to "bottle out" and "leave it to the cosmetic treatments industry to make itself safe". It has campaigned for statutory regulation."

"Demand for cosmetic treatment is soaring with nearly 700,000 procedures performed in Britain in 2005 at a cost of £360m. There are an estimated 20,000 high street clinics offering cosmetic treatments such as botox injections, which paralyse muscles, but which can leave patients with frozen features if too much is used."

"While major cosmetic surgery is regulated, non-surgical treatments such as botox and filler injections to smooth sagging skin can be offered by any high street business."

"The dangers were highlighted by the actress Leslie Ash, star of the sitcom Men Behaving Badly, who had collagen implants in her lips in 2003 which went wrong leaving her with a "trout pout"."

"Jenny Driscoll, health campaigner at Which?, said: "There is an increasingly casual approach to non-surgical treatments - just look at Botox parties where people are encouraged to drink champagne before going under the needle. This is a boom sector and our concern is that the rush to make money may result in some businesses cutting corners.""

"Two government reports published in 2005 drew attention to the risk of the procedures. At the launch of the reports, Sir Liam Donaldson said aesthetic fillers injected under the skin to counter sagging features, popular with celebrities, used material from animals, birds, and human corpses which could be infected with hepatitis and other viruses. Collagen, the most heavily used material, could have bovine material which carried a risk of transmitting vCJD, he said."

"Yesterday, Andrew Vallance-Owen, chairman of the working group on cosmetic surgery established by the Independent Healthcare Advisory Service to implement self regulation of the clinics, said he regretted the Government's refusal to bring in a statutory control but had accepted the task because " some regulation is better than none"."

"He said: "There is no question that better control of these facilities is needed. We are talking about invasive procedures. Botox is a prescription-only medicine and patient safety should be paramount. If things go wrong, some patients could be left scarred physically or psychologically for life."

""As it stands now, almost anyone can set up shop in the local high street, don a white coat and start offering dermal fillers or arrange Botox parties. If we - the industry - don't step in, these procedures will be less regulated than ear piercing.""

"A code of practice would be drawn up, he said. "It is very hard to work out how many people are being treated or how many suffer adverse incidents, because the clinics are unregulated and there is no data. Occasionally you read of a celebrity who has been injured because there is no escape from publicity for them. But there may be a lot of people who are embarrassed by what has happened or don't want to make a fuss and we don't hear about them." He said Botox came in large bottles for single use, with any remaining
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