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NEWS
The latest health, therapy and business news...
Ban on targeted advertising of non-surgical cosmetic procedures to under-18s Following a public consultation which ran from September to October 2020, the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP) are introducing restrictions that will prohibit targeted advertising of cosmetic interventions to under-18s. The new restrictions will come into effect on 25 May 2022 and will require that: n Ads for cosmetic interventions must not appear in nonbroadcast media directed at under-18s; n Ads for cosmetic interventions must not appear in other non-broadcast media where under-18s make up over 25% of the audience; and n Broadcast ads for cosmetic interventions must not appear during or adjacent to programmes commissioned for, principally directed at, or likely to appeal particularly to under-18s. CAP and BCAP will conduct a 12-month, post-implementation review to ensure that the new rules are functioning as intended. In a news item highlighting these changes, CAP and BCAP commented, ‘Children and young people are particularly vulnerable to body image pressures and negative body image
perceptions are prevalent amongst those groups, which can have an impact on their self-esteem, wellbeing, mental health and behaviours. In particular, the period of adolescence has been highlighted in the evidence cited by consultation respondents as a life stage in which children and young people’s body image positivity may rapidly decline. ‘Children and young people’s body image perceptions and their susceptibility to pressures to change their appearance, including considering cosmetic interventions as a potential means to address those concerns, are influenced by a number of social and cultural factors. Nevertheless, the evidence shows there is potential that exposure to different forms of media including advertising, particularly those that focus on body image ‘improvements’ such as cosmetic intervention procedures, is likely to exacerbate body image dissatisfaction and negativity during vulnerable stages of their lives.’ n To read the full news item from CAP/BCAP, visit fht.org.uk/ IT-139-news-CAP n To read the updated CAP guidance on the marketing of surgical and non-surgical cosmetic procedures, visit fht.org.uk/IT-139news-CAP-guidance
Scientists win Nobel Prize for touch research Last October, David Julius of the University of California, San Francisco, and Ardem Patapoutian of the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, California, were awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize in Medicine or Physiology for their research into identifying sensors on nerve cells that detect heat, cold and pressure. According to an article published in ScienceNews, ‘the
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laureates discovered proteins called receptors that turn the burning heat from chili peppers or a hot stove, menthol’s cooling sensation or the pressure from a hug into nerve signals that can be sent to the brain. Those proteins are crucial to the sense of touch and for feeling pain.’ n Read more at fht.org.uk/IT-139-news-touch
Winter 2022
