Next year Brits are expected to spend more on cosmetic surgery than on tea. In fact, according to market research company, Mintel, the number of British adults having plastic surgery this year will be over 690,000 indicating an increase of over 40% over 2005. Cosmetic surgery patients are expected to reach a million by 2009.

The most popular procedures were face and neck cosmetic surgeries with over 30,000 costing in excess of £108 million (US$3.5 million) reported for 2005. With figures of £100 million (approx. US$1.86 million), breast augmentation was a close second.

Although rising drastically, over 86% of Brits still prefer less invasive procedures such as Botox and chemical peels.