Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, pursuant to the Answer of 12 February 2020 to Question 15107 on Social Media: Advertising, what recent discussions his Department has had with the Advertising Standards Authority on including all injectable cosmetic treatments in its guidance.

DCMS has had no recent discussions with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) on including all injectable cosmetic treatments in its guidance.

The ASA seeks to ensure that action is targeted where it is needed, and it has published guidance outlining its evidence-based approach to policy-making: https://www.asa.org.uk/resource/evidence-based-policy-making.html

Noting this, it is already active in the regulation of the advertising of injectable cosmetic treatments, specifically botulinum toxin injections which, as a prescription-only medicine, are prohibited from being advertised to the public by the CAP Code and the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.

The ASA’s regulatory system operates independently of government, but where relevant government departments or other regulators identify - independently of the ASA - harm or detriment arising from the advertising of specific products or services, there is opportunity to work with the ASA to address this.