Section 1 Offence of administering certain substances to a childI1
England and Wales
It is an offence for a person to administer, in England, to another person (“A”)—
botulinum toxin, or
a subcutaneous, submucous or intradermal injection of a filler for a cosmetic purpose,
where A is under the age of 18.
A “filler” is any substance used for dermal or mucous membrane filling (whether or not designed to be so used).
For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), an injection of a filler is, in particular, to be taken to be for a cosmetic purpose if—
the filler is generally used for such a purpose, or
the likely effect of the injection is to alter the appearance of the person injected.
It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under subsection (1) to show that at the time of the alleged offence—
the defendant was a registered medical practitioner,
the defendant was a regulated health professional who, in administering the botulinum toxin or the filler (as the case may be), was acting in accordance with the directions of a registered medical practitioner, or
the defendant—
had taken reasonable steps to establish A's age, and
reasonably believed that A was aged 18 or over.
A person is taken to have shown a matter mentioned in subsection (4) if—
sufficient evidence of the matter is adduced to raise an issue with respect to it, and
the contrary is not proved beyond reasonable doubt.
A person who commits an offence under subsection (1) is liable on summary conviction to a fine.
In this section “regulated health professional” means—
a registered nurse;
a registered dentist within the meaning of the Dentists Act 1984 (see section 53 of that Act);
a registered pharmacist within the meaning of the Pharmacy Order 2010 (S.I. 2010/231) (see article 3 of that Order);
a registered person within the meaning of the Pharmacy (Northern Ireland) Order 1976 (S.I. 1976/1213 (N.I. 22)) (see Article 2 of that Order).
Annotations
Commencement
- I1
S. 1 in force at 1.10.2021 by S.I. 2021/1004, reg. 2