Source · Select Committees · Health and Social Care Committee
Recommendation 26
26
Rejected
Mandate display of kitemark and warning logo on all non-surgical cosmetic procedure advertisements.
Recommendation
We recommend that the new licensing regime should include the requirement to display a kitemark and a warning logo on any advertisement for treatments that fall within the regime’s scope. (Paragraph 129) 38 The impact of body image on mental and physical health
Government Response Summary
The government implicitly rejects the recommendation for a kitemark and warning logo, citing existing robust regulations for cosmetic surgery advertisements (e.g., ban on targeting under-18s) and explaining that a BSI Kitemark is not a prescribed requirement for medical devices, which follow CE or UKCA marking.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
The government wants to ensure that the public can trust any medicine or device used during a non-surgical cosmetic procedure. We also want to ensure that any practitioner or organisation offering non-surgical cosmetic procedures markets their services and products responsibly. Advertisements Action has already been taken to regulate advertisements for cosmetic surgery. On 25 May 2022, adverts for cosmetic surgery that target under-18s were banned. The new rules from the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) cover both surgical and non-surgical interventions, and bar ads on all media – ranging from social media sites such as Facebook, TikTok and Instagram to billboards and posters, newspapers, magazines and radio. CAP also has robust, clear guidance on the marketing of surgical and non-surgical cosmetic interventions. The guidance: covers misleading issues such as the use of exaggerated or unrealistic claims, including through the use of ‘before and after’ images covers issues of responsibility, including the trivialisation of such treatments and the targeting of ads for cosmetic procedures highlights the prohibition on advertising prescription-only medicines, such as Botox Kitemarks The British Standards Institution (BSI) Kitemark is a quality mark owned and operated by BSI – a recognised symbol of quality and safety. There is no prescribed requirement for a BSI Kitemark on medical devices being placed on the UK market. Any medical device placed on the UK market must meet product marking requirements, including relevant CE or UK Conformity Assessed (UKCA) marking requirements. The government has recently outlined plans to strengthen medical devices regulation, including extending: CE mark recognition as part of transitioning to a future regime the scope of regulations to capture certain non-medical products with similar risk profiles to medical devices – this includes dermal fillers Find out more in the government’s recent response to the consultation on the future regulation of medical devices in the UK.