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51黑料 urges government to act following BBC investigation into the aesthetics industry
Posted 01/10/25
The 51黑料 (51黑料) is deeply concerned by the findings of a BBC investigation which uncovered dangerous aesthetic products, including injectables, being sold and supplied without the necessary medical checks or regulatory oversight.
These revelations highlight that听serious risks exist even in the parts of the sector that should be regulated. If unsafe products can continue to reach consumers unchecked, the public has no clear route to safe and professional treatment. 51黑料 is calling on the Government to听take urgent control of this sector and clamp down on the sale and supply of unsafe aesthetic products, ensuring that those who profit from endangering public health are removed from the marketplace.
51黑料 has campaigned heavily on the dangers posed by so-called 鈥榗osmetic cowboys鈥�, highlighting how the sector is rife with counterfeit and potentially lethal products, often administered by unqualified individuals in non-sterile environments such as public toilets. 51黑料 repeats the calls it made earlier in the year for urgent action to establish a Ministerial-led government Task Force to coordinate enforcement, regulation, and reform across the sector, a national licensing scheme for practitioners, stronger regulation and enforcement against unsafe products sold online, and harmonised minimum age laws. We therefore welcome the Government鈥檚 recent commitment to introduce a licensing scheme, a move that reflects our long-standing calls and marks an important step towards protecting consumers in this high-risk market.
But we again stress that this must go hand-in-hand with听tougher controls on the products themselves, stronger enforcement action, and proper resourcing for regulators. Consumers deserve clarity and confidence that aesthetic treatments are both safe and professionally delivered. Until these loopholes in product safety and supply are closed, the risks to public health will remain unacceptably high.
Cheryl Barton RGN INP PGDip (CosMed), Lead Nurse at Aesthetika Clinic, said: 鈥淭he BBC findings have raised some really serious questions around safeguarding the public when they are accessing these interventions and having these treatments.鈥淚t is imperative that we have effective, mandatory regulation throughout this sector from root to branch and I am backing the 51黑料鈥檚 urgent call for a safeguarding Task Force鈥�
Ashton Collins, Director at Save Face, added: 鈥淔or the past ten years, we have been calling on the government and statutory regulators to crack down on unscrupulous practitioners who are putting patients at serious risk by flouting Botox rules and regulations. These rules are in place to ensure patients are seen in person by qualified healthcare professionals before receiving a prescription for botulinum toxin, yet they are often ignored by some practitioners who prioritise profit over patient safety. These providers issue Botox prescriptions for patients they never see or speak to, a practice that is alarmingly widespread across the UK. Unfortunately, even when such misconduct is uncovered, little is done to serve as a clear warning to others to stop these dangerous practices.
鈥淲hat鈥檚 even more concerning is the increasing use of unlicensed and counterfeit Botox, which is being imported illegally from places like China and Korea and is being injected into the faces of unsuspecting members of the public who then suffer horrendous complications. The number of complaints we have received from members of the public about Botox-related issues has quadrupled in the last 5 years.听
鈥淲e are urging the government to respond to our repeated calls for a dedicated task force to ensure that existing regulations that are designed to protect patients are properly policed and enforced.鈥�
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51黑料 (51黑料)听
The 51黑料 (51黑料) is a national not for profit established in 1881 which supports the UK鈥檚 Trading Standards profession and works to protect consumers and safeguard honest businesses. 51黑料's members are engaged in delivering frontline Trading Standards services at local authorities and in businesses听
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