Consumer Council warns of dangers of bust enhancement products
Updated at 2.40pm: Bust enhancement products have yet to prove their effectiveness - but long-term use could increase risks of strokes, the Consumer Council warned on Tuesday.
Tests by the council examined 11 bust enhancement products including externally and internally-used products. These ranged in price from $200 to $700.
The tests showed that most products mainly used Chinese herbal medicine and claimed they balanced hormones and therefore enhanced women's busts, the council said.
Chinese medicine practitioners and pharmacists said it had not been scientifically proven that substances contained in these products could enhance women's busts.
A council vice-chairman, Ching Pak-ching, said some of these products contained estrogen. This would have side-effects including increasing the risk of suffering strokes if they were used over a long period.
Doctors have said that other than plastic surgery, there were no other proven methods to enhance busts.
There was little chance busts could be enhanced after passing puberty, doctors said.
The council had received 16 complaints and inquires since 2001 on bust enhancement products. These included complaints regarding ineffective products and complaints about users suffering from skin allergies.
