Proposed ban on breast enlargement, liposuction and other cosmetic surgery adverts being shown to children

The ban would aim to protect the mental health and wellbeing of under-18s

(Getty Images)

New rules proposed by The Committee of Advertising Practice would mean that adverts about cosmetic surgery would not be allowed to air during programmes or online content aimed at under-18s.

This would include ads for breast enlargement, nose jobs and liposuction.

Currently there are no laws regulating the advertisement of these procedures to under-18s, says the body.

The advertising watchdog suggests that the plans were prompted by the need to protect children’s mental health and wellbeing.

“We are aware of concerns expressed by senior NHS and public health figures about the insecurities and body image pressures that children and young people may experience and, by extension, that they might face undue pressures from ads for cosmetics interventions”, the organisation told The Times.

An advert shown during Love Island in 2018 about breast enhancement is one example which raised concerns over the protection of children. It led to the Mental Health Foundation logging complaints to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA). 

The adverts for the clinic MYA that were broadcast during the show - which had a viewership of 4.3 million that year - showed women dancing and laughing in bikinis on a beach and by the pool.

The advert was later banned by the ASA.

Although MYA defended the advert claiming it did not make any direct claims about the positive impact of surgery and did not show women having a better time as a result of surgery.

Isabella Goldie, the director of the charity, explained at the time: “Implying that people can only enjoy body confidence and an aspirational lifestyle by undergoing cosmetic surgery is dangerous and unacceptable.”

Earlier this summer, a survey by Girlguiding found that lockdown has exacerbated girls body confidence concerns, with a third of girls and young women aged 11 to 21 saying they won’t post a selfie online without editing their appearance first. “Finding acceptance” was cited as the most common reason for the alterations.