Presentation: Advertising cosmetic injection health services compliant with therapeutic goods legislation

Presented by: Alex Stevenson, Acting Assistant Director, Advertising and Compliance Education and Policy Section, TGA

Presentation date: 10 April 2024

Slides

About the webinar

In this webinar we discussed our revised guidance on advertising health services which involve cosmetic injectables.

Most cosmetic injectables contain prescription-only substances which cannot be advertised to the public either directly or indirectly. Prescription-only medicines are high-risk, and patients should be assessed by a health professional before their use. Any reference to a prescription only product or class of prescription only products in advertising a health service is likely to be unlawful. The updated guidance brings consistency across many industries and with other international regulators.

Background

Historically, we have allowed indirect references to prescription medicines to be referenced in advertisements related to cosmetic health services. This was allowed only in the context of promoting the service and only by using generic non-product specific terms such as ‘wrinkle reducing injections.’ 

When advertising health services where the available treatment(s) involve the use of prescription-only medicines or goods containing such substances, including clinics offering dermal fillers, advertisers should only refer to the type of consultations the service offers. For example: ‘our clinic can provide consultations about reducing wrinkles.’

You can read our Advertising health services and cosmetic injections: frequently asked questions.