Do you ever wonder where the Botox comes from? Who makes this magical substance that turns back the clock? There’s a town in Ireland that makes all the world’s Botox. That’s not a joke. That’s a pharmaceutical fact. Westport is a small coastal town in County Mayo and when it comes to facial muscle paralysing toxins it’s literally the frozen-nerve centre.
AbbVie is a Chicago-based pharmaceutical company that makes its billion-dollar therapeutic Botox, for medical and cosmetic use, in this Irish town of barely 7,000 people. It’s not just the fountain of youth, it’s the fountain of their local employment. Fear of ageing keeps them in work.
But Trump wants to bring the Botox home. Back to his own forehead where so much of it currently resides. The 15 per cent tariffs on all pharmaceutical exports from the European Union could devastate towns like Westport, and the 70-plus countries dependent on the supply.
So what happens when the world’s Botox supply is under threat? Would we be experiencing climate collapse, a cost-of-living crisis AND peak wrinkle? The future not only is bleak, it looks like shit.
Full disclosure: I don’t do Botox. I have never had Botox. And I never will. The thought of injecting a nerve-paralysing toxin right near that thing in my head I love to use on a daily basis (my brain) is too scary for me. I’d rather look old. It’s a personal choice. If I wanted to use a toxin that could paralyse my brain I would read The Australian. Actually if given a choice, I’d use Botox before I’d read The Australian.
I am 57 and ageing without the help of big pharma. I understand that there are many that have signed up for the frozen freeway, the paralysing pathway – the forehead less travelled. But are those beautifully unlined faces under threat? We could be facing the collapse of the Botox industry. Or at least a painful pivot. What would that even look like? My forehead wrinkles in contemplation. I enjoy the irony, the world brought down, not by economic collapse, but by the return of expression. And that expression… rage!
Botox is the most common non-surgical procedure performed globally – nearly 9 million procedures each year. But there are risks. In the UK there has been a significant rise in botulism – a rare illness that can cause symptoms ranging from fatigue, headaches and dizziness to difficulty breathing. In the last few months alone, 41 cases have been confirmed in the UK. While these cases appear to be linked to the use of unlicensed products which are much more potent than Botox, even licensed products can sometimes come with risks.
Botulinum the key ingredient for bo-bo is the most lethal toxin known to humanity. If you didn’t get the vax you should definitely not get the Botox. A fragment which would weigh less than a grain of salt could kill you. The toxin acts as a neurotoxin – so it paralyses the nerve.
Around 25 per cent of people who get cosmetic Botox have complications – usually fatigue, headaches, drooping eyelids, visual disturbances and sometimes difficulty swallowing. This is not selling it. Being a bit wrinkly and signing up for Face Yoga (which I have) is still feeling like the best option.
But the more concerning side effect is the risk of botulism. And if people are going for black-market Botox, it’s a real risk. Botulism can lead to anaphylactic shock and respiratory failure. It’s kind of a shit side effect when all you wanted to do was look a bit surprised for a few months.
Being dead would be the ultimate surprise. Nothing stops the ageing process more effectively than death! So in a weird way I guess as an anti-ageing procedure it technically worked.
Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox column has appeared in The Echo for almost 23 years. The personal and the political often meet here; she’s also been the Greens federal candidate since before the last two federal elections. The Echo’s coverage of political issues will remain as comprehensive and fair as it has ever been, outside this opinion column which, as always, contains Mandy’s personal opinions only.
For four decades The Echo has printed the stories some people loved, some people hated, and some pretended not to read. If you want us to keep telling the truth, the real truth, not the sugar-coated version. We’ll need your support to keep the presses rolling. 
