Doctors add new wrinkle to Botox addiction claim
By Beth Teitell
Boston Herald Columnist
Thursday, September 21, 2006
Not that you could tell by looking at them, but the beauty world was shocked - shocked! - earlier this week when British researchers reported that Botox can be ‘‘addictive.”
Lest you imagine saggy-jowled matrons with the DTs, sniffing nervously on street corners waiting to jump a passing plastic surgeon for a fix, rest easy.
The addiction is a psychological one, according to the researchers, who reported that four in 10 people who use Botox have a compulsion to do so on a regular basis, and more than 50 percent of Botox users said they felt they were unable to control their youthful appearance without getting additional Botox injections. They said getting the treatments made them feel younger too.
I hope my tax dollars didn’t pay for this earth-shattering research. Hmmmm - so looking younger made people feel better, and they wanted to keep on feeling better. Who knew?
And by these standards, what isn’t addictive? Isn’t anything worth having/doing/ingesting going to be habit-forming? Like buying great shoes. You know how it goes, one sip of Manolo, and you’re hooked. Just like the Botox ‘‘addicts,” the shoe junkie gets a high from all the compliments she receives and, pretty soon, all she can think about is when and where she can get her next hit of designer shoes. She leaves work early to swing by DSW, and spends hours each night at her computer on Zappos.com.
As you can imagine, the Botox study is not without its critics. In addition to Botox junkies, who’ve told me they can ‘‘stop anytime,” a self-described top Botox authority has called the research ‘‘an irresponsible PR scheme” and says the behaviors described do not meet the clinical definition of addiction: ‘‘a chronic disorder that is characterized by the repeated use of substances or behaviors despite clear evidence of morbidity secondary to such use.”
‘‘A desire to look your best at all times is an inherent right of every individual,” said Dr. Simon Ourian. ‘‘High patient satisfaction following treatment is not the same thing as addiction.”
While I feel a certain smug satisfaction that medical types also snicker at the faux-diction to Botox, I do see an opportunity slipping away.
If Botox addiction were deemed legitimate, and recognized by the American Medical Association and other respectable organizations, might not recovery treatment be covered by certain health plans? Work with me here: I’m thinking discount StriVectin.
