Call for licensing system to control Botox and fillers

A NEW licensing system should be brought in to limit who is allowed to carry out non-surgical cosmetic treatments, such as Botox and fillers.

The All Party Parliamentary Group on Beauty, Aesthetics and Wellbeing (APPG) has said a "complete lack" of a legal framework of standards around such treatments has left consumers "at risk" and undermined the industry’s ability to develop.

The APPG expressed concerns that "currently anyone can carry out any treatment", with minimal legal restrictions around appropriate practitioners or qualifications.

The group made 17 recommendations for government to "plug this regulatory gap".

These include:

• national minimum standards for practitioner training
• a requirement for practitioners to hold a regulated qualification
• making fillers prescription only
• psychological pre-screening of customers
• legislation to introduce a national licensing framework.

APPG co-chairs Carolyn Harris MP and Judith Cummins MP said: “For too long there have been next to no limits on who can carry out aesthetic treatments, what qualifications they must have, or where they can administer them.

“We launched this inquiry as we were deeply concerned that, as the number of advanced treatments on the market continues to grow, the regulation remains fragmented, obscure and out of date which puts the public at risk.

“We were also particularly concerned about the advertising and social media promotion of these treatments and how to make sure vulnerable people, such as children and those at risk from mental ill-health, are protected.”

They called for the government to implement the recommendations, adding: “Maintaining the status quo is simply not an option.”