Discount Medspa, a Web site that had been selling a drug similar to Botox and a range of injectable fillers has been shut down by the US Food and Drug Administration. The Web site was making it easy for the average consumer to purchase injectables without a prescription, which means anyone could inject themselves or someone else with a potentially harmful compound.
This move comes on the heels of charges made by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott in late November against a Tarrant County, Texas woman. According to the state’s enforcement action, Laurie D’Alleva and her Mansfield businesses, Discount Medspa and Ontario Medspa, with illegally offering prescription drugs, including botulinum toxin injections, without a license.
The woman was cited for improperly marketed and sold cosmetic enhancement prescription devices, prescription drugs, and video instructions for “do-it-yourself” injections of botulinum toxin. The state also claimed that D’Alleva falsely claimed that membership in a nonexistent entity called the Texas Medical Council authorized her to sell prescription-only products.
The Web site claimed that it had more than 2,000 customers, according to a recent report in the Cosmetic Surgery Times, and many of the people who purchased the injectables simply taught themselves how to administer the drug by watching YouTube videos that were produced specifically for the site.
Discountmedspa.com sold several other DIY cosmetic treatments including lip plumping injections, prescription Renova and several treatments designed to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines.
According to a news report published in the New Orleans Healthy Living Examiner, D’Alleva, the creator of the Web site, made the following statement about her online operation: “I know there is much information out on the net about fillers and Botox ‘knock-offs’. This is not what I am selling! The products I have are from a company names Ipsen… I have a connection that allows me to get products that are not usually available in the states because I purchase other products in their line. Now the trick is I have to market it and label it under my own brand, to keep them and myself from getting into any legal trouble. It does take a leap of faith, but I assure you I have over 2000 customers now who love the products and are saving literally hundreds of thousands of dollars between us!”
She recommended that all buyers simply watch the YouTube videos to achieve the same results they would receive at a doctor’s office.
After several complaints had been filed with the Texas Department of State Health Services, discountmedspa.com was shut down for offering prescription products illegally.
[Source: New Orleans Healthy Living Examiner/Cosmetic Surgery Times]
