New Bill to restrict under 18s’ access to Botox and fillers echoes Nuffield Council concerns

Laura Trott MP has today introduced a Private Members’ Bill which calls for tougher regulations on under 18s’ accessing Botox and fillers.

Young people’s access to surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures was a key concern raised in our 2017 report on ethical issues that arise in the context of cosmetic interventions. Following a two-year inquiry, we concluded that under 18s should not be able to access cosmetic procedures other than in the context of multidisciplinary healthcare (as would be the case when procedures are provided by the NHS).

In May 2019, the previous Government’s Health Minister – Jackie Doyle-Price MP – planned to bring forward legislation to take forward our recommendation and to ban under 18s from accessing cosmetic procedures – in line with current age limits on tattoos and sunbeds.

Today’s new Bill – ‘Botulinum Toxin and Cosmetic Fillers (Children)’ – indicates that this important issue is still very much on politicians’ agendas, and we look forward to contributing to further debates as the Bill progresses.