Miss Defenestrator

Wednesday, September 14, 2005

Beauty takes a deadly turn - World - smh.com.au

Absolutely sick. Sick. Foul. Just sick...

London: A Chinese cosmetics company is using skin harvested from the corpses of executed convicts to develop beauty products for sale in Europe, an investigation has discovered.

Agents for the company have told would-be customers it is developing collagen for lip and wrinkle treatments from skin taken from prisoners after they have been shot. The agents say some of the company's products have been exported to Britain, and that the use of skin from condemned convicts is "traditional" and nothing to "make such a big fuss about".

With European regulations to control cosmetic treatments such as collagen not expected for several years, doctors and politicians say the discovery highlights the dangers faced by the increasing number of Britons seeking to improve their looks. Apart from the ethical concerns, there is also the risk of infection.

The House of Commons select health committee is to examine the regulatory system and may launch an inquiry and question ministers about the need for immediate new controls.

"I am sure that the committee will want to look at this," said Kevin Barron, its Labour chairman. "This is something everyone in society will be very concerned about."

Plastic surgeons are also concerned about the delay in introducing regulations to control the cosmetic treatments industry.

A former president of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons, Norman Waterhouse, said: "I am surprised that we are taking the lead from the European Commission, because this is bound to delay action on this important area which is increasingly a matter for concern."

It is unclear whether any of the "aesthetic fillers" such as collagen available in Britain or on the internet are supplied by the company, which cannot be identified for legal reasons. It is also unclear if collagen made from prisoners' skin is in the research stage or is in production.

An agent told customers the company had exported to the US and Europe, and that it was trying to develop fillers using tissue from aborted foetuses.


I don't know what to say. That's not human. (Well, hey, I guess the point is that it is.) I might post about it later, but I'm too sickened now.

2 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home