"Sales are more important than what the [breast implant] shells are made of." That was the stunning reply via email of a Poly Implant Prothese [3] (Pip) marketing genius when the company's sales representatives began questioning the safety of the implants as early as 2005, reports The Australian [3] via Agence France Presse. Pip is, of course, the French breast implant manufacturer that used industrial-grade silicone in its products, which allegedly contributed to higher-than-normal rupture rates. The company was shut down and its products were banned in 2010 after it was learned that industrial-grade silicone was being used.
It is estimated that between 300,000 and 400,000 women in 65 countries have implants with the nonmedical-grade gel. France and some other countries are advising women to have the implants removed because of the risk of rupture.
For more on this story, see the Daily Mail [4] article with the colourful headline: "The terrifying story of how a former French butcher earned millions from selling faulty breast implants made from mattress filling [4]."