Consumers of some cosmetic surgery products should have a better idea of what they are buying following declarations by the Federal Court that Collagen Aesthetics Australia Pty Ltd engaged in misleading and deceptive conduct when advertising its Collagen Instant Therapy and Hylagenesis products.
The advertisements appeared in a number of magazines including Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Marie Claire and Cosmetic Surgery Magazine during the period January 2001 to March 2002 and made the following claims that:
- because the Collagen and Hylagenesis products are registered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods, they are safer than the competitor's products which are merely listed;
- Collagen and Hylagenesis products are safe;
- treatment with the Collagen products is painless;
- Collagen products are natural; and
- there are three different types/forms of the Hylagenesis products that are available to consumers.
The ACCC alleged that each of the claims were false or misleading because:
- products registered on the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods are not necessarily safer than listed products;
- the application of the Collagen and Hylagenesis products has caused adverse health reactions in some people and accordingly, they are not necessarily safe;
- pain is experienced by recipients upon administration of the Collagen products after injection and before the anaesthetic takes effect;
- Collagen products contain a synthetically derived anaesthetic and accordingly, cannot be considered to be natural; and
- only one type/form of the Hylagenesis product was available to be supplied to consumers at the time the advertisements were printed.
As a result of these proceedings, the Federal Court has made various orders including declarations that Collagen Aesthetics Australia has breached sections 52, 53(a) and 53(c) of the Trade Practices Act, which deal with misleading and deceptive conduct, approval, performance characteristics and composition of products. It also made injunctions prohibiting Collagen Aesthetics Australia from making the same claims in the future and required the company to issue corrective advertisements in various magazines including Vogue, Harpers Bazaar, Marie Claire and Cosmetic Surgery Magazine. All orders were made with the consent of Collagen Aesthetics Australia and the ACCC.
"The ACCC is pleased with the outcome in this case", ACCC Chairman, Professor Allan Fels, said today. "The cosmetic surgery industry is heavily reliant on advertising to bring in clients. This result will send a message to providers that false and misleading advertising will not be tolerated".