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Date: Fri May 27 1994 13:00:50 From: Pete Porro AP 05/27 09:17 EDT V0838 FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) -- Forget silicone, says a hypnotist who ran newspaper ads saying he could help women develop larger breasts through the power of suggestion. Kentucky's attorney general doesn't believe it and accused Steve Marek of deceptive business practices in a lawsuit filed Thursday. The advertisements claimed women could increase their breasts "one full cup size without surgery or implants, safely, through hypnosis with a program developed by a medical doctor," the lawsuit said. "The theory is that some women, during puberty, may suppress their growth for some reason or other," a state investigator said in an affidavit filed with the lawsuit. "When hypnotized, he took them back to puberty and asked them to release the suppression. He indicated the client had to be very motivated to do this," the affidavit said. The claim is made "in the absence of any medically recognized evidence that such treatments are successful," Attorney General Chris Gorman said in the lawsuit. Marek operates a counseling service in Lexington and is not a medical doctor, although he does have a doctorate from the American Institute for Hypnotherapy in Santa Ana, Calif., the lawsuit said. A message left at Marek's office Thursday seeking comment was not returned. Marek told the state investigator he "performed the technique on two friends about a year ago, but only as a personal favor," the lawsuit said. He was just starting to offer the service publicly and had five or six prospective clients, the lawsuit said. The 12-week program cost $375, the lawsuit said. Gorman is seeking a $2,000 fine for each violation of the state's consumer protection law, and a court order barring Marek from offering breast enlargements. Marek's ads also claim he can help clients lose weight, stop smoking, overcome alcoholism and prolong their lives.

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