Former theatre nurse calls for tighter regulation around botox
Tanya Khan says it's 'well known' that unlicensed products are making their way into Northern Ireland
A former theatre nurse is calling for tighter regulation around botox in Northern Ireland, after reports unlicensed products are making their way into the supply chain.
Tanya Khan is now an Aesthetics Nurse Practitioner and treats people at her clinic in Belfast.
She has over a decade of experience in aesthetics and wants politicians to make it a priority:
"It is a known fact that people are using products that are being imported illegally into Northern Ireland.
"Now how that's getting here I actually don't know but it's a prescription-only medication."
The Department of Health said: "The risk to public safety posed by the unlawful distribution and misuse of unauthorised medicinal products within the non-surgical cosmetic sector in Northern Ireland is a serious issue. Such breaches relating to Northern Ireland can be referred to the Department’s Medicines Regulatory Group for investigation under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.
"The Department continues to take decisive action to combat illegal promotion, supply or misuse of medicines and to alerting the public about the dangers of using unauthorised medicines outside of the regulated supply chain.
"We remain vigilant and continue to work with key partner agencies to monitor the illicit marketplace and will continue to take effective action where necessary to protect public safety in Northern Ireland."
Tanya says she is also worried about the practice of botox parties in Northern Ireland:
"When someone's thinking about having these treatments, they need to have the time to have all the information relayed to them, I can't imagine me being at a botox party and trying to get people who are sipping on wine and cocktails to listen to me, I need to check for their understanding.
"If I'm not sure that they fully understood all that information then I cannot gain informed consent but I suppose many of the people who are doing these treatments at botox parties probably don't even gain consent."