A tragic story occurred in Georgia this summer. It began with a short report by an information agency that a 17-year old girl living in the Tbilisi district of Goldani had been brought to hospital with terrible burns. It appeared she had sunbathed on her balcony, rubbing fig infusion on her skin. The burn was more serious that might be expected: the girl was sent to the emergency room, doctors spoke about the necessity of anaplastic surgery.
In a few days three other girls were burned when they tried to improve their tan effect by fig infusion. The mass media paid attention to a strange tendency. Journalists came to the hospital and recorded an interview with doctors who warned that sunburn is a serious thing, and fig infusion accelerates the threat of deforming a person's face and body many times.
After numerous TV shows, it was expected that no other mistakes would follow. Everybody saw crying parents standing in an emergency room. But something senseless began: every day, reports on fig infusion sunburns were published. All the victims were girls from poor families aged between 17 and 20. At last the Health Care Ministry made a big announcement, urging people to be careful. The authors of the statement warned about possibility of death. “Fig burn” became the main news in all the information programs. It was clear that society faced a serious social problem.
The fact that the girls wanted to be beautiful is natural. Tanning is not simple beauty for many, it is a kind of lifestyle. But not everybody has an opportunity to go to the sea or attend a solarium. The majority of the victims are girls from low-income families. They risked their lives on purpose. It is a social problem and nobody knows how to solve it.
