2021-11-02 17:36:41
The Botulinum Toxin and Cosmetic Fillers (Children) Act 2021 came into effect on 1 October 2021. The Act, which applies only in England and Wales, started out life as a Private Members Bill. The Act creates two offences.
- It is an offence to administer to a person under the age of 18 Botulinum Toxin or subcutaneous, submucous or intradermal injection of a filler for a cosmetic purpose.
- It is an offence if a business owner administers these products to a person under 18 in the course of a business.
In the case of an offence by a body corporate, a director or secretary of manage of the body will also be guilty of the offence if they cosent, connive at the offence or the offence is attributable to their neglect.
In both cases, it is a defence if a pharmacist, nurse or dentist administers the products in accordance with the directions of a medical practitioner. There are also due diligence defences in the Act.
It is also against the law to ‘make arrangements’ (such as book an appointment) for the treatments to be given to anyone under the age of 18 in England. Parents cannot give valid consent for children to receive treatment.
The government has given guidance for businesses which can be found here https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/botulinum-toxin-and-cosmetic-fillers-for-under-18s-guidance-for-businesses/botulinum-toxin-and-cosmetic-fillers-for-under-18s-guidance-for-businesses and the GPhC has given guidance in the latest issue of Regulate, which can be found here https://www.pharmacyregulation.org/regulate/article/botulinum-toxin-and-cosmetic-fillers-children-act-what-you-need-know.
An article calling for an ethical debate on the use of non-surgical cometic procedures recently appeared in Pharmacy in Practice https://pip.scot/2021/10/30/pandoras-botox/.