As Barack Obama looks to overhaul the American health care system at a cost of $1 trillion, cosmetic surgery procedures such as rhinoplasty, breast enlargements, tummy tucks and liposuction could be hit with a new ten percent tax to help foot the bill.

The American cosmetic surgery industry was reportedly worth $10.3 billion in 2008, spent on 12.1 million plastic surgery operations. Around five million shots of Botox were administered; nearly a quarter of a million had liposuction; over 120,000 tummy tuck operations were performed.

And cosmetic surgery numbers, including non-invasive procedures such as Botox injections, are on the rise so it comes as little surprise that politicians are tempted to tap into this industry.

Tax deductions are currently allowed on reconstructive surgeries such as after a patient has recovered from cancer. However non-reconstructive surgeries such as nose jobs, teeth whitening and hair implants could be subject to the new tax. The plan is to cover all procedures that are not currently tax deductible and are not commonly covered under standard health insurance policies.

Critics of the proposal say that it would become a ‘bureaucratic nightmare’ to determine who should be taxed and who shouldn’t be. As women still make up the majority of those going under the knife, the cosmetic surgery tax would also be discriminatory.

This is not the first time that a cosmetic surgery tax has been considered. Several states have looked at the industry in the past, however New Jersey is the only state to have implemented a scheme. Many have dubbed the scheme a failure as it is reported to have only brought in 25 percent of the forecasted revenue and two years ago, it was voted to repeal the law.