Ad description
A paid-for Facebook ad for a beauty clinic, Therapie Clinic UK, seen on 8 July 2024, stated in the caption “Cosmetic Injections […] 200+ Doctors on Our Team 10 Million + Treatments Completed”.
The ad included a photo of a woman’s face. Text next to the image text stated, “DOCTOR-LED TREATMENTS COSMETIC INJECTIONS 3 AREAS”. Text along the bottom of the image stated, “Cosmetic Injections, Dermal Filler, Lip Filler”. Additional text stated, “Doctor Led Cosmetic Injections Therapie Clinic is Europe’s No.1 medical aesthetic clinic … Learn more”.
Issue
The ASA received complaints from the Joint Council for Cosmetic Practitioners (JCP) and Laser Clinics UK. They challenged whether the ads promoted Botox, and therefore breached the Code by advertising a prescription-only medicine (POM) to the public.
Response
Valterous Ltd t/a Therapie Clinic UK said that all their cosmetic injectable treatments were categorised as "Doctor-Led Treatments" and were administered exclusively by qualified healthcare professionals. Those treatments included non-prescription only medicine treatments including dermal fillers, lip fillers, polynucleotides, Profhilo, HArmonyCA and Sunekos, as well as prescription-only medicine treatments that used ‘Toxin’ (Botulinum toxin), all of which were prescribed and administered in strict accordance with legal and regulatory requirements. They said that "3 Areas" referred to treatment zones commonly targeted for aesthetic improvements, such as: lips, jaw, nasolabial folds, marionette lines, cheeks, chin, tear troughs and temples for fillers; face, neck and hand areas for polynucleotides and Profhilo; eye and face areas for Sunekos; and the face for HArmonyCA. "Cosmetic Injections" encompassed a broad range of treatments, including dermal fillers, lip fillers, polynucleotides, Profhilo, HArmonyCA, Sunekos and Botulinum toxin, administered in precise doses to the areas described above, based on individual client needs.
Assessment
Upheld
The CAP Code stated that POMs or prescription-only medical treatments may not be advertised to the public.
The ASA understood from the Therapie Clinic website that they offered a number of "Cosmetic Injections" treatments, which included polynucleotides, Profhilo, HArmonyCA and Sunekos, as well as “Anti-Wrinkle” treatments. They also offered “Fillers” which included dermal fillers and lip fillers. We further understood from the FAQ section on their website that anti-wrinkle injections were “also known as botulinum toxin injections”. Whilst polynucleotides, Profhilo, HArmonyCA, Sunekos, dermal filler and lip filler were non-POM treatments, botulinum toxin (Botox) was a POM.
The ad stated, “COSMETIC INJECTIONS 3 AREAS FROM £179 […] Cosmetic Injections Dermal Filler Lip Filler”. We considered that consumers would understand from the ad that cosmetic injections were distinct from dermal fillers and lip fillers. As referenced above, whilst “Cosmetic Injections” referred to both POM and non-POM treatments, we understood that the promotion only applied to “Anti-Wrinkle” treatments, and not the polynucleotides, Profhilo, Sunekos, HarmonyCA or filler treatments that they offered. We therefore considered that the claim “COSMETIC INJECTIONS 3 AREAS FROM £179” referred to their “Anti-Wrinkle” treatments and, because that was a reference to botulinum toxin injections, the ad indirectly advertised a POM, namely Botox.
We therefore concluded that the ad advertised a POM to the general public.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rule 12.12 (Medicines, medical devices, health-related products and beauty products).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Valterous Ltd t/a Therapie Clinic UK not to advertise prescription-only medicines to the public in the future.
