Secret Filming Exposes Dangerous Trade In Illegal Botox

Nurses and pharmacists person been putting patients astatine consequence by supplying Botox without due checks, a BBC undercover investigation has found.

Researchers posing arsenic beauticians secretly filmed a caregiver trading prescriptions complete WhatsApp, a pharmacist coaching clients to falsify records and a bogus expert handing complete Korean toxin vials for cash.

Medical rules require an in-person consultation and medicine to cheque Botox is suitable. Skipping these safeguards raises nan consequence of complications specified arsenic drooping eyelids, headaches or, successful uncommon cases, respiratory nonaccomplishment aliases death.

The pharmacists' regulator said it was "very concerned" while nan nurses' regulator said it would reappraisal nan evidence.

Botulinum toxin - commonly known by nan marque sanction Botox - is besides sold nether respective different licensed brands successful nan UK, including Azzalure, Bocouture and Dysport.

According to marketplace analysts Precision Business Insights, nan UK botulinum toxin marketplace was worthy astir £115m successful 2024 and is forecast to scope astir £295m by 2031.

Botox is simply a prescription-only medicine, and while galore group now person injections from high-street beauticians, nan rule requires a doctor, dentist, caregiver prescriber aliases pharmacist prescriber to first analyse nan diligent successful personification and rumor a medicine confirming it is safe to proceed.

Over respective months, BBC researchers gathered grounds of trusted aesculapian professionals sidestepping nan rules. Secret signaling captured transactions from high-street clinics to online sellers, revealing really unsafe and forbidden practices person dispersed crossed England's booming aesthetics market.

In a café successful Christchurch, Dorset, our undercover interrogator posed arsenic a beautician seeking prescriptions and nan Botox banal needed to inject clients astatine a caller beauty clinic.

Across nan array sat Poole-based elder caregiver prescriber Sally Jackson, who ran a business supplying beauticians successful this way. As a prescriber, she was required nether master rules to meet and analyse each diligent successful personification earlier issuing a prescription, nan archive that allows beauticians connected nan precocious thoroughfare to inject.

Ms Jackson acknowledged those rules but past brushed them aside. "I'm expected to do a face-to-face consultation. But we tin do it nan different way, WhatsApp me," she said.

When pressed connected whether she should speak to clients who would beryllium her patients, to whom she owed a work of care, she was blunter still. "I should talk to them, but I won't," she admitted, dismissing nan checks arsenic "same aged crap".

For £30, she issued a prescription, later obtained by nan BBC from nan drugstore she directed, for a diligent she had ne'er met, whose specifications were sent to her connected WhatsApp.

Once a backstage practitioner successful London's exclusive Harley Street, Ms Jackson was now trading shortcuts to beauticians nationwide, telling our researcher: "I'm truthful busy."

She besides offered to prescribe other vials connected a genuine patient's book - allowing beauticians to support banal for clients and past inject them secretly, pinch nary medicine successful place. Prescribing a supplier successful 1 person's sanction for usage connected different constitutes fraud.

Ms Jackson ignored repeated requests for comment. When confronted successful person, she replied: "I americium not interested."

"Botox is safe erstwhile utilized decently - but nan checks beryllium for a reason," said Cheryl Barton, lead caregiver astatine nan Aesthetika session adjacent Sheffield, who often gives master grounds successful malpractice cases.

"The truth is that shortcuts by registered and regulated aesculapian professionals who should cognize amended are an unfastened concealed successful nan industry. Prescribers are expected to spot patients look to look and rumor a valid medicine - but excessively often they don't."

Without those safeguards, explained Barton, prescribers tin miss captious conditions that make curen unsafe, aliases transmission counterfeit and unlicensed products connected to nan market. Misuse of botulinum toxin tin origin superior harm - from headaches and blurred imagination to, successful uncommon cases, respiratory nonaccomplishment aliases moreover death.

Official figures backmost up her concerns. The UK medicines regulator recorded 52 suspected Botox-related complications successful 2019, rising to 225 successful 2024, pinch 141 already logged this year. Since 2015, 12 deaths person been recorded.

For patients specified arsenic Antonia Hannah, from Twickenham, westbound London, nan effect tin beryllium devastating. She booked Botox arsenic a day treat, but nan qualified practitioner gave her nary due consultation, asked nary questions astir her aesculapian history and grounded to measure whether nan curen was suitable.

Within days her eyelid had drooped and swelled. "It was changeless discomfort and pain, for illustration solid successful your eyes," she said. "I'd beryllium retired shopping pinch my daughter, glimpse successful a mirror, and conscionable burst into tears."

In eastbound London, pharmacist prescriber Cornelius Agoye was besides consenting to prescribe without immoderate consultation, handing complete vials of Botox for rate pinch nary diligent successful sight.

He met a 2nd undercover researcher, posing arsenic a beautician wanting prescriptions and banal for clients, and to screen his tracks told america to capable successful records arsenic if a consultation had taken place: "I did face-to-face consultation today… I've conscionable done it," he said.

He past explained to america nan aforesaid fraudulent believe of utilizing prescriptions for 1 diligent to get other banal to beryllium utilized connected others.

Asked astir nan legality of this, his reply was blunt: "Yeah, you're going to do it illegally… That's what you're doing. I didn't show you anything."

The BBC wrote to Mr Agoye, a registered and trusted organization pharmacist, seeking an mentation for his behaviour.

He apologised and admitted falling beneath master standards and said he meant nary harm.

Earlier this year, a abrupt outbreak of botulism crossed England near dozens of young women successful hospital, immoderate partially paralysed, aft being injected pinch black-market Korean toxin sold by beauticians arsenic a Botox-style treatment. It highlighted nan dangers of unlicensed products — and led nan BBC to analyse those down nan waste and acquisition successful London.

The squad uncovered a bogus expert trading unlicensed Botox. In northbound London, Prakash Gurnani — who runs Beauty Aesthetics and Wellbeing successful Golders Green — introduced himself to our undercover interrogator arsenic a "skin doctor". In reality he is not a expert astatine all, and misleading clients successful this measurement is simply a criminal offence.

When asked astir Botox, he instantly offered a cheaper Korean alternative. The Korean vials were unlicensed botulinum toxin products, marketed arsenic having nan aforesaid wrinkle-smoothing effect. They're perchance vulnerable because they aren't regulated aliases tested successful nan UK, truthful their contents and safety, aliases whether they are counterfeit, are unknown.

He sold a vial for £149, pinch nary medicine and nary safeguards, and admitted he had been trading unlicensed products for years crossed nan UK including passim nan Covid period.

Mr Gurnani described holding Botox parties wherever groups of young women were injected pinch nan aforesaid forbidden Korean toxin. He told our interrogator to hide what was really being injected. "Just opportunity 'tox'," he instructed. "Don't usage 'Botox', conscionable opportunity 'anti-wrinkle'. Keep it quiet. They are young girls and there's nary problem - conscionable dainty them pinch Korean tox."

When asked astir nan risks by nan researcher, he brushed them aside. "Very safe. As agelong arsenic they don't unfastened their mouth," he said, referring not to immoderate aesculapian issue, but to nan consequence of being caught.

His activities stretched beyond Botox. He besides sold nan BBC powerful prescription-only weight-loss narcotics specified arsenic Mounjaro, contempt not being qualified to prescribe them, and moreover suggested injecting 1 of our reporters pinch an illegally obtained anaesthetic arsenic portion of a cosmetic procedure.

The BBC had only fixed him nan scantest of details, and a drugstore which issued nan medicine and supplied nan weight nonaccomplishment narcotics said he had tricked them by posing arsenic a expert — a declare Mr Gurnani later disputed.

Mr Gurnani ignored each requests for comment, and erstwhile confronted by nan BBC denied offering Botox illegally aliases asking clients to break nan law.

The cases of Sally Jackson, Cornelius Agoye and Prakash Gurnani were not isolated.

The BBC received reports from different parts of England of registered aesculapian professionals breaking nan rules, and immoderate of them said straight to our undercover researcher.

One pharmacist besides admitted he was not carrying retired nan required face-to-face consultations and suggested faking photographs to instrumentality regulators into reasoning they had taken place.

Another caregiver was recovered issuing prescriptions connected nan ground of nan barest diligent details, and, aft nan Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) tightened its guidelines successful June, admitted she was prepared to "be a spot greyer" and transportation connected without due consultations.

Medical experts told nan BBC specified practices stripped distant nan astir basal safeguards and put ample numbers of patients astatine risk.

The BBC wrote to nan NMC, which regulates nurses crossed nan UK. It said prescribers must spot patients look to look earlier issuing prescriptions for cosmetic procedures, and promised to reappraisal nan grounds from this investigation and enactment connected breaches.

The BBC besides approached nan General Pharmaceutical Council. It said it was "very concerned" by nan findings, stressing that Botox prescriptions ever require a beingness introspection and that enforcement action would travel wherever standards were not met.

The BBC further asked nan Department of Health and Social Care astir nan issues raised. It said nan cosmetics manufacture had agelong been plagued by unlicensed practitioners and confirmed nan authorities was assessing reforms, including tougher licensing of non-medical professionals specified arsenic beauticians.

But erstwhile many times asked astir nan cardinal uncovering of this investigation - that trusted aesculapian professionals are themselves breaking nan rules and putting patients astatine consequence - nan section did not connection a consequence and declined an question and reply pinch Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

• If you person much accusation astir this story, you tin scope Guy successful assurance by email astatine guy.lynn@bbc.co.uk