ASA reminds clinicians advertising botulinum toxin is illegal
Aesthetics and beauty businesses are being warned to stop illegally promoting botulinum toxin injections on social media.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), working with the Committees of Advertising Practice (CAP), alongside the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), has issued an Enforcement Notice to the aesthetics and beauty industries on the rules around advertising botox.
It is illegal to advertise prescription-only medicines, such as botulinum toxin, to the public. This applies even if the drug is administered by a registered medical professional.
The CAP has already sent the warning to more than 130,000 beauty service providers. Coming into force from January 31, the ASA will use “monitoring technology” to find problematic ads, flagging them to Facebook and Instagram for removal.
The watchdog will be cracking down on paid-for ads, non-paid-for posts and influencer marketing, as well as promotional advertising such as “botox parties” or treatments as a competition prize. CAP and the ASA will refer non-compliant sellers to the MHRA, which has investigatory and enforcement powers.
“We’re taking action to tackle botox ads on social media using brand new monitoring technology. This tool helps us to be more efficient and effective in identifying and removing problem ads,” said ASA chief executive Guy Parker.
The CAP will also be rolling out a targeted ad campaign across Facebook to raise awareness of the issue.
The Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners (JCCP) has welcomed the news, having worked with the CAP and ASA for some time to strengthen advertising standards and codes in the aesthetic sector.
In a statement, it said: “We support… the MHRA and CAP and its endeavours to protect the public from potentially misleading and harmful advertising. We will continue to work alongside CAP and ASA in identifying poor promotion within non-surgical cosmetics and encourage the discussion of POMs responsibly within the confines of the codes set out within CAPs.”
What are the new rules?
The CAP is advising businesses to adhere to the following guidelines:
- Remove any direct reference to Botox or other botulinum toxins, including names such as “beautytox” or “beautox”. This includes in images and hashtags.
- Don’t use alternatives such as “wrinkle-relaxing injections”, as this still counts as promotion of a prescription-only medicine.
- Don’t refer to treating medical conditions in a way that suggests you are promoting a prescription-only medicine, for example, “injections for excessive sweating”.
- You can promote the service you provide and the consultation, such as “a consultation for the treatment of lines and wrinkles”, but you must be careful not to directly or indirectly advertise a prescription-only medicine.
This is the furthest-reaching enforcement notice ever issued by CAP. Director Shahriar Coupal said: “This is an example of how CAP is exploring new, proactive ways of ensuring ads stick to the rules and rising to the challenges presented by the online environment.”
