Competition in cosmetic surgery has forced doctors to adopt the promotional catchphrase that's famously helped to shift everything from bags of crisps to double-glazing
Now the famous marketing mantra ‘buy one, get one free’ or ‘BOGOF’ is being used by surgeons to persuade self-conscious types to splash out on a breast operation or a nose job.
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The supermarket-style deal and other similar discount type offers are being made as surgeons become increasingly more sophisticated in their attempts to draw in new customers.
Many of them are now offering the possibility of ordering online through shopping carts or getting cheaper deals through time-limited no-refund special offers.
The trend has concerned specialists from the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons who have held meetings with officers from the General Medical Council, to insist on great sanctions to control such practise.
It was reported in The Times that Nigel Mercer, the incoming president of the European Association of Societies of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, said: “This is unethical and is happening on a huge scale,” the Daily Mail reported.
“People should not be touting for business by telling people they will get a discount if they bring their mum or their next-door neighbour along,” the statement read.
Women and daughters are among the target group, with many taking up offers such as ‘get four implants for the price of three’ and getting up to 400 pounds off on the deal.
Transform, a clinic chain that provides cosmetic surgery, said that there has been a 26 per cent increase in cosmetic procedures over the course of the last 12 months.
There is debate over what qualifies as an unethical incentive by a doctor.
Niall Dickson, chief executive of the GMC, said doctors must promote their services to the public responsibly and not put pressure on patients.