INVERCLYDE MSP Stuart McMillan has teamed up with the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to make consumers aware of advertising rules relating to the promotion of non-surgical medical aesthetic services.

The senior SNP politician was first made aware of the need for change when constituent Jill Best, who owns Jill Best Medical Aesthetics Ltd, contacted him in 2018 with fears that patient safety was in jeopardy due to lax regulation.

Mr McMillan said he has witnessed promotions on social media which breach advertising rules relating to prescription-only medicines (POMs), which in some cases could also breach gambling rules.

The Inverclyde MSP added: "For a few years now, I’ve been working with local healthcare professionals who offer medical aesthetic treatments about the need for greater regulation of these services to improve patient and consumer safety. 

"As part of that, I’ve been learning about the various rules and regulations they must abide by, including advertising.

"Words such as ‘Botox’ are not permitted to be used when advertising medical aesthetic treatments, and some businesses have even tried to sell these using lottery draws, which brings gambling rules into play and could potentially be illegal.

"I am not suggesting businesses that have breached these rules have done so deliberately, but it does concern me that they may not be aware of all the rules and regulations they need to follow to operate a safe and proper business."

Mr McMillan has urged anyone who sees a business breaching advertising rules to report the incident to the ASA. 

He added: "This isn't about penalising businesses  - it's about providing the ASA with an opportunity to engage with businesses and educate them on the rules they should be adhering to.

"This in turn should improve patient safety and consumer protection."

Miles Lockwood, ASA director of complaints and investigations, thanked Mr McMillan for getting involved. 

He added: "We’re grateful to Stuart McMillan MSP for raising his concerns with us, and for the opportunity to work together to remind businesses of their duty to follow advertising rules and reassure consumers that we will act if and where our rules are being broken.

"We know from a comprehensive crackdown in this area that many health and beauty practitioners, often small businesses or sole operators, are themselves unaware of the rules.

"We have an array of resources to help them get it right.

"We welcome Stuart signposting to his constituents to our online complaint form, and encourage anyone with concerns about ads of this nature to send us the details.”