Love Island cosmetic surgery ads cause for concern say NHS chiefs

NHS chiefs have sent a letter to the Advertising Standards Authority expressing their concern that the adverts shown during ITV’s reality-show Love Island have an adverse effect on young people.

Written by Claire Murdoch, NHS England’s mental health director and co-signed by children’s commissioner for England Anne Longfield and president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists Professor Wendy Burn, the letter says: “Not only are there clear risks associated with cosmetic surgery, but placed alongside the body image pressures that can be inherent in many online and social media interactions, adverts such as these could pose a risk to mental health.” It also raises the question of whether the existing UK Code of Broadcast Advertising which states that children must be protected from advertisements that could cause physical, mental or moral harm, is fit for purpose.

On the same subject, NHS England’s chief executive Simon Steven said during the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “Look at the adverts that are being shown alongside Love Island. You’ve got explicit ads aiming at young women around breast cosmetic surgery. That is all playing into a set of pressures around body image that are showing up as a burden on other services.”

Sean Duggan, CEO of the Mental Health Network, responded to the letter by saying: “It is great to see NHS England bringing attention to this issue. We know young women are the fastest growing group suffering from mental health issues, that anxiety problems are more common among women aged 16-24 and that a quarter of women in this age bracket have reported self-harming. Issues around body image will only add fuel to the fire so this is a really important intervention which our members support. Our members are doing some fantastic work both in prevention and treating people with mental health problems but services are lacking the funding they need. The long term NHS investment plan is the perfect opportunity to put this right – it is vital that mental health gets its fair share of this funding.”